Playlog of an Awakening

[Ike-Mike]

Fire Emblem is my favourite video game series. However, even when there are no bad Fire Emblem games, just ones that are not as good, my feelings about the last few installments are all over the place. I've ranted viciously before about how I feel Radiant Dawn is a bloated sequel that was trying too hard too be too much at the same time. I also think Shadow Dragon is a solid remake with a few interesting concepts and a few new neat ideas that brought the series back to its most basic gameplay structure. While going back to basics was a nice refresher after ten subsequent games adding and playing around with new mechanics and its sequel is also a well executed expanded remake, it's obvious that the series needs to move forward with more original games.
And now a new Fire Emblem is finally coming out to Europe. One of the higest selling Fire Emblems, having outsold the same recent games I've been wary about, and met with praise from veterans and newcomers alike, now it's finally my turn to find out if the warm reception is justified and if I can be fully engrossed in Fire Emblem again.

This is going to be a playlog where I'll probably be going off tangent and rambling a lot. Screenshots will be provided with a camera from time to time. However, I'm going to play with German text and I don't feel like changing my system language just for you. I haven't been looking into guides and metagame discussions too much, so I will probably be doing gameplay decisions that is going to make a few heads spin.
If you want a high-quality Let's Play, go to SA or something.

My playthrough's silly gimmick is going to be that I name my forges after Serenes Forest members.

But enough talking, let's play Awakening together, reader.

[spoiler=Status]Total playtime until final blow: 117:24:58

Total Main Campaign + Paralogue turns: 298

Average turncount: 6-7

MVP

1. Michael S.
2. Chrom
3. Linfan

Premonition: 3 turns
None

Prologue: 5 turns
Michael S. & Lissa

Chapter 1: 4 turns
Chrom & Michael S.

Chapter 2: 6 turns
Michael S. & Stahl

Chapter 3: 9 turns
Chrom & Sully

Paralogue 1: 12 turns
Michael S. & Vaike

Chapter 4: 5 turns
Stahl & Kellam

Champions of Yore 1: 11 turns

Chapter 5: 11 turns
Stahl & Sully

Chapter 6: 6 turns
Lon'zu & Vaike

Paralogue 2: 7 turns

Chapter 7: 5 turns
Chrom & Sully

Paralogue 3: 7 turns
Cordelia & Donnel

The Golden Gaffe: 5 turns

Chapter 8: 7 turns
Cordelia & Donnel

Chapter 9: 8 turns
Vaike & Nowi

Paralogue 4: 8 turns

Michael S. & Miriel

Chapter 10: 5 turns

Michael S. & Miriel

Chapter 11: 4 turns

Chrom & Sully

Chapter 12: 7 turns

Vaike & Nowi

Harvest Scramble: 5 turns

Chapter 13: 3 turns

Stahl & Olivia

Champions of Yore 2: 4 turns

EXPonential Growth: 5 turns

Chapter 14: 5 turns

Sully & Lucina

Chapter 15: 8 turns

Olivia & Stahl

Chapter 16: 5 turns

Olivia & Stahl

Champions of Yore 3: 5 turns

Paralogue 6: 9 turns

Cordelia & Donnel

Summer Scramble: 5 turns

Paralogue 5: 4 turns

Gaius & Owain

Paralogue 12: 7 turns

Chrom & Sully

Paralogue 8: 8 turns

Owain & Linfan

Paralogue 14: 10 turns

Kjelle & Laurent

Paralogue 13: 7 turns

Chrom & Sully

Paralogue 10: 14 turns

Kjelle & Laurent

Paralogue 9: 5 turns

Michael S. & Cynthia

Hot Spring Scramble: 10 turns

Paralogue 7: 5 turns

Severa & Yarne

Paralogue 15: 7 turns

Brady & Cynthia

Paralogue 11: 6 turns

Vaike & Nowi

Paralogue 16: 11 turns

Owain & Linfan

Infinite Regalia: 10 turns

Lost Bloodlines 1: 6 turns

Lost Bloodlines 2: 4 turns

Chapter 17: 13 turns

Lucina & Íñigo

Lost Bloodlines 3: 6 turns

Smash Brethren 1: 7 turns

Smash Brethren 2: 4 turns

Smash Brethren 3: 9 turns

Chapter 18: 4 turns

Cynthia & Brady

Paralogue 17: 2 turns

Owain & Linfan

Chapter 19: 2 turns

Brady & Cynthia

Chapter 20: 6 turns

Yarne & Severa

Chapter 21: 5 turns

Brady & Cynthia

Chapter 22: 3 turns

Owain & Linfan

Chapter 23: 3 turns

Brady & Cynthia

Chapter 24: 4 turns

Severa & Yarne

Chapter 25: 3 turns

Lucina & Íñigo

Paralogue 18: 5 turns

Yarne & Severa

Paralogue 19: 4 turns

Brady & Cynthia

Paralogue 21: 4 turns

Brady & Cynthia

Paralogue 20: 3 turns

Owain & Linfan

Paralogue 22: 3 turns

Owain & Linfan

Rogues and Redeemers 1: 4 turns

Rogues and Redeemers 2: 5 turns

Rogues and Redeemers 3: 5 turns

Endgame: 1 turn

Brady & Íñigo

[spoiler=Forges]Hextator
Wind +2 Mt +3 Crit
A magic tome sealed with a wind power with unpredictable results.

Piemanmj
Iron Sword +2 Mt
A sword of many names. Its swings sound like a distinctively long "yo".

Hikarusa
Hand Axe +2 Mt +10 Hit
A throwing axe coated with an insane spirit. It is said whoever gets their head chopped in half is granted the knowledge of the entire universe in their last breath.

Zephemeral
Iron Lance +2 Mt +5 Hit
The most upward and pointiest lance. It is said to contain shards of the Gáe Bolg.

Kaerose
Javelin +2 Mt
A throwing spear that died a thousand deaths.

Rothene
Iron Lance +1 Mt +5 Hit +3 Crit
A lance only for the early bird. It seems to disappear from time to time.

Reverie
Steel Sword +1 Mt +10 Hit
A sword that makes you gasp loudly when you see it.

Rehab
Steel Axe +3 Mt +5 Hit
A brutal steel axe, subject of many legends. Perfect for those who want to sit back and listen.

Charlie
Steel Sword +2 Mt +5 Hit
A spiritual blade once wielded by the great Miyamoto Musashi.

GoldVanguard

Bronze Sword +3 Mt +6 Crit

A rookie's sword. It houses a spirit that has played Kirby's Adventure Wii.

Balcerzak

Flux +2 Mt +10 Hit +6 Crit

A book infused with the darkest magic of all: Science!

Guile

Killer Axe +2 Mt +3 Crit

An axe that does its cuts with Sonic Booms.

Integrity

Hammer +2 Mt +10 Hit

A hammer that is going to be most baller.

Lumi

Levin Sword +2 Mt +5 Hit +3 Crit

A blade which luminescense was granted by the great Thor Odinson.

Freohr Datia

Killer Lance +2 Mt +10 Hit +3 Crit

A lance that kills others with love.

kdanger

Arcthunder +2 Mt +5 Hit +3 Crit

An electric tome only for the greatest of adversaries.

UtsuhoReiuji
Bolganone +1 Mt +5 Hit +3 Crit
A tome infused with explosive magic. There was once a wielder who seemed to say the worst things at the most unfitting times, even at his best intentions.

Sirius
Rapier +1 Mt +5 Hit +3 Crit
A gentleman's sword that was once used in many a Defense of the Ancients.

Excellen
Javelin +2 Mt +10 Hit
A throwing spear with a medical degree. Knows about current goings-on in Germany.

Ein
Bronze Lance +2 Mt +10 Hit
This lance belongs to an ancient spirit that is still somewhere somehow.

BrightBow
Bronze Bow +4 Mt +10 Hit +6 Crit
This bow is inhabited by a spirit that refused to hang out with me irl.

Soul

Bronze Axe +2 Mt +10 Hit +6 Crit

A rookie's axe frequently found far from the forest.

Fia

Nosferatu +2 Mt +5 Hit

A magic book loaded with FE4 THREAD magic.

TheEnd

Elfire +3 Mt +5 Hit +9 Crit

A magic tome imbued with the fiery passion of an old man.

Samias

Iron Lance +4 Mt +15 Hit

A lance as old as its inhabiting spirit. It's supposed to turn anyone who wields it into an artist.

SlayerX

Bronze Sword +5 Mt +6 Crit

A rookie's sword that has been around for a long time.

Fruit Ninja

Bronze Axe +4 Mt

A rookie's axe forged by the gods a long time ago and left there.

Necktie

Beast Killer +2 Mt +5 Hit +6 Crit

A passive-aggressive lance that has slain many a mounted beast before.

Kay

Elfire +3 Mt +15 Hit +3 Crit

A magic tome that sends out blazes of airheadedness.

US Raven

Alm's Blade +3 Mt +5 Hit +3 Crit

A sword for the serious and calculating type.

UK Raven

Seliph's Blade +1 Mt +5 Hit +9 Crit

A sword for the fun and easygoing type.

LukaMegurine

Volant Axe +2 Mt +15 Hit

The cool skyward axe, effective against Metal Gear.

Sheth

Iron Axe +4 Mt +15 Hit +3 Crit

An axe that is as new as it is old.

ShoMtheShow

Killing Edge +3 Mt +10 Hit +3 Crit

A blade that kills others with its sharp wit. Has a girlfriend.

Momo

Steel Sword +4 Mt +10 Hit +6 Crit

A sword without much bullshit inbetween, it only stabs where it hurts the most.

Manouleth

Finn's Lance +3 Mt +5 Hit +6 Crit

This lance is gay, it's okay to hug him.

Parrhesia

Innes' Bow Mt +3 Crit +6

The bow is made of a flametongue. Thought to be left for dead.

Levity

Celica's Gale Mt +4 Crit +3

The fanfiction of ther lifetime, now an offensive weapon.

Esme

Short Spear +3 Mt +10 Hit +3 Crit

Easily amused, taken from a gunshow.

Dandragon

Wyrmslayer +2 Mt +20 Hit +3 Crit

This sword was won in a game of Card Czar.

Rei Rei

Hector's Axe +3 Mt +10 Hit +6 Crit

A real man's axe. The Jungle King's proof.

DLV

Brave Lance +2 Mt +10 Hit +6 Crit

A lance forged from a Youtube Poop.

Emeraldfox

Ephraim's Lance +3 Mt +10 Hit +3 Crit

A carefree lance. Makes the wielder instantly grow an afro.

NoNameAtAll

Glass Sword +5 Mt +15 Hit

NoDescriptionAtAll

AstraLunaSol

Bolt Axe +2 Mt +10 Hit +6 Crit

A magic axe which spirit has vanquished the dark souls.

ChaosNinji

Micaiah's Pyre +2 Mt +5 Hit +6 Crit

A spellbook from times long past. Its spirit is still around through other means.

Hanbei

Katarina's Bolt +2 Mit +5 Hit +9 Crit

Has its own cut-in. Effective against Nesshelper.

NTG

Silver Bow +5 Mt +5 Hit +6 Crit

The greatest bow that once belonged to someone you've liked to annoy for almost a decade.

Specta

Silver Lance +5 Mt +5 Hit +6 Crit

The greatest lance that once belonged to a good friend.

Dio

Silver Axe +5 Mt +10 Hit +3 Crit

The greatest axe that once belonged to a good friend.

Nightmar

Silver Sword +5 Mt +5 Hit +6 Crit

The greatest sword that once belonged to a good friend.

Kasu

Aversa's Night +5 Mt + 5 Hit +6 Crit

The greatest tome that once belonged to the coolest.

Edited September 1, 2013 by Ike-Mike

[RNG Princess]

May the RNG goddess sell you good items at a fair price.

Have fun

[darkkfan]

I've ranted viciously before about how I feel Radiant Dawn is a bloated sequel that was trying too hard too be too much at the same time. I also think Shadow Dragon is a solid remake with a few interesting concepts and a few new neat ideas that brought the series back to its most basic gameplay structure. While going back to basics was a nice refresher after ten subsequent games adding and playing around with new mechanics and its sequel is also a well executed expanded remake,

Whoa that's, like, the exact opposite of my views on FE10&11. I'm surprised I've never run into you "ranting viciously" before (probably because I don't go to the FE10 boards that much), but that's probably a good thing since I like to rant too and two people who like to rant with opposing viewpoints is a bad combination XD just ask any politician.

All that aside, I will probably check out this playlog because now I'm curious about how you are going to make my head spin.

Edited April 18, 2013 by Walhart

[riariadne]

I'll be looking forward to this. Show us what you've got, Mike.

[I.M. Gei]

I'm reading this, buddy

[AstraLunaSol]

My body is ready.

Should be interesting.

[riariadne]

als you're already a bow a lance and a sword you don't get any forges

[Renne]

What mode will you be playing? ;o Unless I'm blind and you said that somewhere.

Edited April 19, 2013 by Cordelia

[Ike-Mike]

My Fire Emblem shelf is finally complete!

As I started the game I was greeted with a nice intro and an impressive title screen. After tinkering around with the few options that are already there I start a new game.

I get presented with three options:

Normal - Für Anfänger der Serie.

Schwer - Für erfahrene Spieler.

Extrem - Für Experten.

I suppose I'm an experienced player so I pick Hard Mode.

Then I get presented with two more options:

Gefallene Einheiten kehren zurück. - Anfänger

Einheiten sind für immer verloren. - Klassisch

I pick Classic Mode since I feel like dying today.

Now I get to the character editor. I pick Body Type 1, Face Type 2, Hair 1, Hair Colour 5 and Male Voice 2. My name is Michael S. and my best and worst stats are HP and luck, respectively.

Premonition

Merasmus the Magician dukes it out against Chrom and me. While I have rewatched the Premonition before several times in preparation, watching it for the first time in 3D is actually quite impressive, especially how your hood hangs out over everything.

After spending even more time with the game settings, I finally start to play. Merasmus spends the entire chapter doing nothing and taunting you while both me and Chrom approach and defeat him.

After launching one last desparation move Merasmus finally dies. Finally everything can return to peace and... Chrom dies?!

Even back when I watched the Premonition for the first time it stood out to me how they implemented in medias res, a plot device used very often in modern video games, and with the usual final chapter setting nonetheless. It doesn't play around with who is the villain and who are the heroes of the story and nicely shows how powerful your units can become during the course of the game. Even back when I watched it for the first time I wanted to immediately see what's going to happen next.

Also speaking of game settings, I feel that I must reiterate how many options you're provided with even from the very beginning. That seems to be the game's overarching theme: options. Even when there aren't more game settings than in other FEs it's still presented in a way that makes it look like you're overloaded with them. It almost feels like a Sakurai game.

So far the German translation is really nice, and doesn't veer off from the English one too much, especially in the CG scenes.

Though 'dastard' got translated as just 'Kerl'. :(

:(

3 turns taken.

There are no heroes in this chapter.

Prologue

The cutscenes are paced nicely between CG and in-game cutscenes so it doesn't feel like there is too much. Some justifications how I can see everyone's stats and everyone explaining their roles in battle happen. Since I already saw this dialogue several times already because of the demo, I wanted to skip it, and that brings me to a minor nitpick: Why can't you skip individual dialogue boxes with the B button like in previous games? And pressing start only brings you to the next setpiece! I also wanted to pick on how skipping isn't instantenous anymore, but it is a lot faster than in the demo.

I pair up Frederick with Chrom and Lissa with myself for the status buffs and bring both pairs to the middle of the map to pick apart all the enemies that are in my attack range. Despite missing a finishing blow on one or two occassions with a 81% hit rate (Welcome to Fire Emblem) everything goes down smoothly.

Frederick is apparently a lot more eloquent and formal than in the English version. Since he is supposed to be the formal one, I think it fits him nicely. His snarkiness is retained behind all the eloquence, anyway.

5 turns taken.

Michael S. and Lissa are the heroes of this chapter.

Chapter 1

After bandits and bad guys now zombies are attacking the place. Everything is on fire and the birds flying by on the map with the 3D effect on still look like insects flying over the screen!

This time I pair up Frederick with Lissa and go to the left, while I get paired up with Chrom and we cover the bottom. The sparkling spot on the fortress gives me Micaiah's Pyre.

Afterwards Sully and Virion arrive.

Virion starts to sweet talk Sully.

And then he confidently continues to do so.

And after getting a kick in the face he still barely gets the chance to catch up with everyone in the battle.

What a man!

What a thrill!

I put both next to each other but as the enemies start to target Virion I pair him up with Sully after all. The Frederick pair cleans up the left side of the map while the other two pairs take care of everyone else.

Judging from previews I thought Lissa was going to end up a spoiled brat like Serra. Thankfully, this isn't the case. Another Serra would've killed me!

4 turns taken.

Chrom and Michael S. are the heroes of this chapter.

In conclusion, Virion is my favrite beaumont.

Pic related, it's me.

OK REPLY TIME:

I'm surprised I've never run into you "ranting viciously" before (probably because I don't go to the FE10 boards that much), but that's probably a good thing since I like to rant too and two people who like to rant with opposing viewpoints is a bad combination XD just ask any politician.

At least with video games you aren't arguing about anything deeply personal and world-changing.

What mode will you be playing? ;o Unless I'm blind and you said that somewhere.

Hard/Classic, but that should be obvious by now. :P

Edited April 30, 2013 by Ike-Mike

[Ike-Mike]

Chapter 2

The first map that I get to play outside of the demo and I'm already struggling with thinking up an efficient tactic. I split up the cavaliers to the left side and everyone else to the right, with everyone culminating at the small bridge. I need to be careful there, as Stahl died once because my choking tactics went awry.

I need to point out that, even if it isn't far into the game, the map design is brilliant so far. You're being eased into the game with new elements being thrown in at a fast pace and the maps feel maze-like while still looking like it could be an actual geographical terrain. They also encourage you to play around with the pairing up mechanic. It goes to show that there is still much left to do with your standard FE map and terrain types.

Speaking of pairing up, I need to say that it's an amazing addition to the series. I seldomly keep pairing up the same people every chapter, because everyone's buffs are helpful in their own way. Swaps and separations also happen often because of it. Sometimes I pair up Miriel with me to give a small magic boost or I pair Lissa up with Miriel to give her a magic boost. Frederick also becomes extra helpful as the Jeigan with his status buffs.

Pairing up offers a tremendous shake-up to the usual conservative tactics while still feeling distincly Fire Emblem. To me the Rescue command on its own feels shallow even though it's supposed to give the game some depth, and there needs to be another similiar mechanic to complete it. I liked capturing more than shoving as a means to reach that completion. However, combining units to make them stronger feels like a much stronger mechanic than all three of the above, giving depth and still easy to grasp and even enticing to do so because it only makes everyone stronger. The battle scenes also feel strangely empty now when there's only two people fighting.

Speaking of fighting, I've become pretty fond of the locked camera. Many of the battle animations seem to be adapted from Jugdral, save for the thing where everyone feels like going back to their starting position, and the locked camera angle only seems to emphasize it.

The German text is still nice and Vaike calls himself Der Vaike now. Nothing could possibly have made Integriotty more happy.

And Miriel is. So. Wordy!

Frederick might've been eloquent but Miriel is to the point where I need a thesaurus to know some of her words are synonyms for much simpler words.

I only know a small number of people who are just as eloquent...

Oh no, Sumia said "Sumimasen!"

They're after me.

They're after me.

They're after me!!

They're after me they're after me they're after me theyreaftermetheyreaftermetheyreaftermetheyreaftermetheyreaftermetheyreafterme

6 turns taken.

Michael S. and Stahl are the heroes of this chapter.

Chapter 3

This fortress out in the cold is perfectly symmetrical. I decide to storm it from the right-hand side, even though I had Chrom run to the right to recruit Kellam. His defensive boosts are a godsend, especially to Der Vaike who comes with the usual axefighter trait that high HP are offset by a low defense. Even though the objective is only to defeat the boss I still do enough slip-ups that I eventually maul everyone, safe for one lonely Armourknight standing on the left.

Poor Armourknight, I hope he's put some really warm clothes on over all this metal.

9 turns taken.

Chrom and Sully are the heroes of this chapter.

As we cross the border the paths finally start to split up and lots of connectivity options become available for me. I set up my Streetpass options and summon a legacy character.

Now Hector is walking around on the world map as a Lv20 General and has Armads equipped. I could've bought a few items from him but no one is ready to use them yet.

Actually I'm not buying anything yet because no weapon is running out of uses yet.

Actually I have a few gripes with the inventory system in this game but that is for another post.

Edited April 20, 2013 by Ike-Mike

[Integrity]

The German text is still nice and Vaike calls himself Der Vaike now. Nothing could possibly have made Integriotty more happy.

so. happy.

I wanted to skip it, and that brings me to a minor nitpick: Why can't you skip individual dialogue boxes with the B button like in previous games? And pressing start only brings you to the next setpiece! I also wanted to pick on how skipping isn't instantenous anymore, but it is a lot faster than in the demo.

You CAN hold down and A to speed through dialogue quicker without skipping an entire set, or press it once to skip a few lines. I only learned this yesterday.

[I.M. Gei]

Der Ubermensch Vaike!

[Ike-Mike]

I've seen people complain before that the inventory management in this game is cumbersome and I'm inclined to agree. I hardly used the list interface in previous FEs because to me the default supply interface was intuitive enough. So why is the list the default and only interface now? Weapons of the same type are put together now toom so I don't see why the traditional interface couldn't have been used. But that isn't even my main gripe, I'm slowly getting used to it. What gets me though is that weapon uses feel kind of redundant and overbearing now, since there are always enough weapon drops and opportunities to restock and the only thing constraining you is gold, which also drops often and in decent quantities. Maybe it's too big a deviation, but if future FE's are going to have free-roaming world maps then maybe they should make weapons unbreakable, at least for the main weapon types like iron and steel? I think Gaiden was onto something with its inventory system.

On a better note, as of now I think the writing is superb. It definitely feels different, but in a good way. It has a nice balance of seriousness while still being humorous and light-hearted, which I always appreciate. It's also consistent and feels like one writer worked on everything instead of a team of many.

Support conversations feel short and concise despite being several lines long. While the characters' personalities might be one-note they feel relatable and like actual human beings, much like in FFIX. I also find Frederick's dedication to Chrom adorable and admirable at the same time and the support conversation between me and Chrom could've emphasized that the rescued person might feel suspicious that Chrom is the one trying to lull them into a trap, but that is maybe for another support level.

Paralogue 1

New forge!

Hextator

Wind +2 Mt +3 Crit

A magic tome sealed with a wind power with unpredictable results.

Chrom and his people go to a bandit fort and several jokes at the expense of Donnel's mum happen.

Also...

Roddick.

The family resemblance sure is there!

Donnel presents himself muttering "D-D-Donny dabe!" by which he obviously means that he's the best but he misspoke. Getting that one level up to make him join permanently was a bit of a pain too, since he was still very fragile even when pairing Frederick up with him. Whittling the enemies' HP down so Donnel could finish them off was more troubling than it should be, because a dual strike would always trigger that would finish everyone off prematurely. I still managed to do it after several attempts though.

The map is designed with its many obstacles and chokepoints to have an easy time picking and finishing enemies off for Donnel, but I think Night of Farewells in FE7 did it better with its narrow roads that could be choked but still allowed for enough maneuvrability. Miriel was my personal Nino in this chapter though, because she was catching up on a few levels picking off enemies and she even annoyed the two archers near the boss. Donnel gives the boss the finishing blow.

12 turns taken.

Michael S. and Vaike are the heroes of this chapter.

Chapter 4

New forge!

Piemanmj

Iron Sword +2 Mt

A sword of many names. Its swings sound like a distinctively long "yo".

After benching him last chapter, I decide to pull out Kellam since I felt his defensive boosts might come in handy. They did. Actually I'm impressed by Kellam himself! His tankiness. His javelin! His javelin throws!

Kellam, I'm sorry that I was also guilty of ignoring you! Here, I even drew you a nice picture as an apology!

Marth said "Let us fight with honour!" That's why I beat her in one turn with Chrom and Frederick paired up.

I could've finished this chapter one turn earlier if one fighter with a handaxe wasn't being a butt.

5 turns taken.

Stahl and Kellam are the heroes of this chapter.

OK REPLY TIME:

You CAN hold down and A to speed through dialogue quicker without skipping an entire set, or press it once to skip a few lines. I only learned this yesterday.

So it's like in Metal Gear and Atlus RPGs, but with an unintuitive button combination? Eh, good enough.

I'm just wondering because it can't be a hardware restraint, since the Tellius games let you skip everything instantenously.

Edited April 20, 2013 by Ike-Mike

[Ike-Mike]

At long last, Risen are spawning and the Outrealm Gate is open. I partake in the various skirmishes and interact with the people who show up. One of them is Serra, who I bought a few items from and thanked off.
I like how lively the world map is already. Risen, street- and spotpasses along with the occasional merchant come and go alongside the main chapters, paralogues and DLC that are available at any point in time. It already is a lot more versatile than the encounters in The Sacred Stones or the set skirmish spots in Gaiden. I also like how I can just try another map if I can't beat a particular one. I really like how you can always leave the map during preparations. It doesn't make much sense, but who cares, it's a video game. You can't desert in the middle of battle anyway. The concept of trying your luck somewhere else if you can't move on is found in many RPGs, but has been strangely absent in Fire Emblem. It also exemplifies how RPGs handle dinamic difficulty; the amount of grinding done is also the difficulty meter. It also makes me question if I should continue categorizing the playlog by chapter.
Aside from that, I like how in most skirmishes you start on where the enemy was in the original chapter. It gives me the feeling that whatever I conquered I'm supposed to defend now.
I'm starting to move away from Frederick and try to get a few units up to speed. Mostly Sumia and sometimes Virion, along with Donnel when an actual opportunity to level him shows up.

Champions of Yore 1

Chrom and his crew take on against every major female character in the series.
At this point in the game this chapter is actually quite difficult, especially if most of your party consists of people you want to catch up with your remaining party. It has always been a good strategy in FE1, FE3 Book 1 and some of the lower difficulties in Shadow Dragon for Shiida to distance in and pick off some of the pirates, especially the ones who are at sea. And now the pegasi are distancing in on me! Virion got a few good shots in though and that's okay.
Eirika and Micaiah are manageable, but Lyn and her escorts Lilina and Julia can be a real pain. Lyn hits fast and the other two hit hard, especially since my team is hardly magic resistant. The NPCs are very helpful but also very denying of EXP. Celica gets taken down by a paired up Chrom and Stahl.

Also I got this:


11 turns taken.
I give this DLC chapter a Girl Power/10.

I receive Pr. Marth. Maybe it's because of my dialogue choices, but any references to New Mystery seem to be entirely omitted in the German script. I keep him hanging around in skirmishes until Chrom reaches level 10 a few chapters in solely because of charisma.

Chapter 5

There is a lot of going back and forth in this chapter, as wyverns are swooping in and the enemy is surrounding you with all kinds of weapons and magic. Unannounced reinforcements happen, which is weird, since every other game mechanic has been introduced through dialogue.
Sumia was still very weak, so I had to rush in at the beginning to save Maribelle and the shota. Battles were fought, pairs were upped, forts were blocked and I even got all the event tiles. I continue getting great stuff I can't use because I'm crummy or everyone's weapon levels are too low.

11 turns taken.
Stahl and Sully are the heroes of this chapter.

New forge!
Hikarusa
Hand Axe +2 Mt +10 Hit
A throwing axe coated with an insane spirit. It is said whoever gets their head chopped in half is granted the knowledge of the entire universe in their last breath.

New forge!
Zephemeral
Iron Lance +2 Mt +5 Hit
The most upward and pointiest lance. It is said to contain shards of the Gáe Bolg.

I'm benching Lissa for the more maneuvrable Maribelle.

Chapter 6

Marth gets unmasked this early in? I mean, I've watched the scene on Youtube eons ago but I didn't know it happens so soon.
Also she says she's also a really good actor? You don't say! If only there was someone who could've translated this scene for me back then, that would have been splendid!
Merasmus the Magician is back and brings in a lot of troops for what is your standard castle defense. The chokepoints are well defined, so I occupy them. Actually I don't or else Gaius sends himself to death.
Instead Gaius is bribed with candy and sent to the treasure chest near Emmeryn. Palne also joins and I decide to pair her up with Sumia. This is even better than Sumia and Kellam! I'm sorry Kellam for ignoring you again, I really am.
The battle scene is also wonderful! Why are you people fighting, I'm too busy trying to see what's happening behind those pillars.
After most of the troops are done with I start closing in with Merasmus doing the same. Even though he inflicts massive damage I finish him off with Sully paired up with Chrom.

6 turns taken.
Lon'zu and Vaike are the heroes of this chapter.

I like how there are plenty of small twists and turns in the background story while the general plot isn't anything unprecedented. That the good royals of Ylisse have a troubled past that is still very recent and are still struggling to redeem themselves and that Chrom doesn't have difficulty believing Marth's prophecies come to mind.
And speaking of trying another map if you can't succeed with the previous one, there's been a streetpass team I've been struggling with because Tharja was being a pain with her Wilderwind. After I got Palne, she and Sumia took care of her very quickly.

Edited April 23, 2013 by Ike-Mike

[phobia]

More, more I say!

[Ike-Mike]

Paralogue 2

The two sassy bandits are back, this time with a vengeance and ready to raid a village somewhere up north in the mountains. In a surprising twist, Anna is there too, ready to defend the village... at... all... costs...

If the above isn't enough, let me reiterate how wonky the AI is in this chapter. After a certain spot on the map everyone starts going after Anna, the archers especially even if there's a pegasus in their range, bandits have their eyeballs glued on the village and Anna is only killing bandits, while Victor and his mob only start moving when you're in their range.

I got Sumia up to speed by now and had her carry Chrom through half the map, but even then I had to restart several times. Though in the end I managed to rescue both Anna and the village.

Though the chapter is luck-based I still can't help myself but to like it. The general map layout reminds me of Dance in the Skies in FE4 and snow levels don't give you different movement penalties, just like in FE4.

7 turns taken.

Chrom and Sumia are the heroes of this chapter.

I have to say that I tend to get a lot of mediocre level ups with only 2 or 3 stats increased, even in this game where growth rates are very generous. Sometimes I do get really good level ups though, but then I inevitably mess up somehow and have to restart and the level up is a mediocre one again.

I mean look at this perfect level up:

And then I did a novice mistake and got someone killed.

I had a Streetpass team and Risen appear at the same spot. It was an entertaining battle, because the Risen were several times stronger than the Streetpass team. The team, however, had Gregor, Olivia and Nowi which were doing a lot of work cleaning everything up for me. I haven't been that big a fan of the token dragon girl in previous FEs, but I might find myself using Nowi this time around...

New forge!
Kaerose

Javelin +2 Mt

A throwing spear that died a thousand deaths.

New forge!
Rothene

Iron Lance +1 Mt +5 Hit +3 Crit

A lance only for the early bird. It seems to disappear from time to time.

Chapter 7

Emmeryn tries to find refugee in an obscure mountain fort, only to be betrayed by a NPC bishop and assaulted by Plegian wyvern knights.

I seem to have overleveled my units a bit, as I have an easy time sending everyone out to the front, while me and Miriel cover everything in the back. Virion even gets a few good hits, too. Especially Chrom easily dispatches the wyverns with his Falchion. Only now I notice that I haven't given him any new weapons since Falchion takes care of everything just fine, despite being no stronger than an ordinary iron sword.

Halfway through Cordelia arrives, warning you that Plegia doesn't hesitate with their invasion and that enemy reinforcements are on their way. They didn't seem to have arrived, though. Odd.

I like the canyon at the bottom part of the map. It makes it look slightly less square-shaped and is a nice place for air battles.

5 turns taken.

Chrom and Sully are the heroes of this chapter.

Chrom's support level with Sully is about to reach S rank. Let us read it, then.....

Awwwwwwww

Awwwwww haha

Awwwwwwwwww

Awwwwwwwwwwww!!

Oh god I'm all mushy inside

Heehee

Ahaha heehee awwwwwwwww

awwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!

Awwwwwwwwwwwww.

<3

Ok I've melted into a pile of goo now

I'm sorry why is everything soo blurry all of a suddne excuse me for am oment please

After lots of internal struggle the childhood friends Sully and Chrom have entered a maritial bond that is going to last a lifetime.

Paralogue 3

Risen are attacking a bunch of unwitting villagers. You have to think fast and act on quick feet or else they will get themselves ki-- oh, they're all dead.

I mean I don't think the stuff I would've got if I saved them would be that needed-- Alright, Chrom, you're sorry for them, you're making me feel sorry, I'm restarting.

One villager saved. I have a seraph robe and a log now.

Speaking of Dance in the Skies, this chapter gives me a similiar vibe, probably also because of the NPCs. If only they could be consumed for 50 EXP...

7 turns taken.

Cordelia and Donnel are the heroes of this chapter.

New forge!
Reverie

Steel Sword +1 Mt +10 Hit

A sword that makes you gasp loudly when you see it.

Der Aurum-Ausrutscher

Judging by the chapter title I was expecting to fight a geometrically simplistic alien hivemind. What I got were a bunch of Risen with lots of money. They are running away though and don't counterattack, so I don't have to worry that I'm going to be mauled by the few Lv20 promoted enemies. They're a neat little trap though for those who were powering through the game until now not fully paying attention who they're fighting against. Because of that this DLC isn't pay-to-win. Furthermore you also have to keep track of your own weapon usage and the like. The amount of gold isn't egregious either. I got about 20,000 gold, the amount I usually expect from a FE warchest and I'm sure it's going to last a long time.

I appreciate how tongue-in-cheek the dialogue is. This game really sensibly switches between its funny and serious moments. The entry line for each character makes me chuckle as well. Cordelia, however, has me worried. Quick, someone confess his feelings for her before she starts crying herself to sleep every night and whispering Chrom's name on every other moment! Well, there is that support with Donnel building up...

5 turns taken.

I give this DLC chapter a Loadsamoney/10.

I also tried to do Harvest Scramble but hahaha fuck trying to beat that Lv20 Revenant at this point!

Edited April 26, 2013 by Ike-Mike

[Ike-Mike]

Before tackling the next batch of chapters, I do plenty of training and catching up. Eventually I'm able to trigger the S level support between me and Miriel. And trigger it I do.....

"I bought a pretty ring because I wanted to save it when I would propose to a girl."

Wow

Um

Nice thinking ahead, me.

Haha, Miriel is so adorably obtuse!

Wow.

Haha, heehee.

Oh, um, okay.

After awkwardly sperging around each other for some time, Michael S. and Miriel will continue to sperg and do weird experiments in their maritial bond for a lifetime.

New forge!

Rehab

Steel Axe +3 Mt +5 Hit

A brutal steel axe, subject of many legends. Perfect for those who want to sit back and listen.

New forge!

Charlie

Steel Sword +2 Mt +5 Hit

A spiritual blade once wielded by the great Miyamoto Musashi.

Chapter 8

Chrom crosses the desert in an all-out assault against Plegia. There they go against a bunch of shamans chasing after Gregor and... Nowi.

Even the German translation makes fun of her age discrepancy!

Then there is also Gregor. He uses infinite verbs, which isn't as cool as Russian Gregor. I still read his sentences with a Russian accent. Huh?

This chapter is pretty straightforward. I let Cordelia fly ahead and visit the villages while everyone else is catching up with Nowi. Even if her Dragonstone gives her a good defense boost, she still falls quickly, especially when the myrmidons can double her. Therefore I put Gregor to the front.

Exposition about the Grimleal only comes at the very end and it's very brief, but that's okay, since the main objective was to rescue those two clowns.

7 turns taken.

Cordelia and Donnel are the heroes of this chapter.

Many more skirmishes happen. I also fight Moulder in battle and recruit him.

Eventually Donnel and Cordelia are able to reach S level with their support. Let's do it, then...

Haha!

Hahaa, wow! Good boy!

Pffffft

Haha.

Heehee.

Oh man. Haha.

Wow, oh, hm. Haha.

Pffffffft

After careful evaluation of each other's strengths and flaws, Donnel and Cordelia have their foundation for a life long marriage.

After a friendly brotip from Manouleth, I reclass Palne to a Wyvern Knight.

I only had to buy another beaststone from a friendly streetpass unit to make her reach level 15 before doing so, though!

Donnel also has been reclassed to Mercenary. He's as strong as a level 10 unit despite being only level 1, that's crazy!

New forge!

GoldVanguard

Bronze Sword +3 Mt +6 Crit

A rookie's sword. It houses a spirit that has played Kirby's Adventure Wii.

Chapter 9

Chrom reaches castle Plegia and wants to rescue Emmeryn once and for all.

I must say the cutscenes are nicely laid out so far, but ridiculous at some points. Like that axe throw towards Emmeryn's executioner.

I also feel the need to reiterate that despite being a trickster, Gangrel still comes off as pretty kingly. His conversation pictures make him look a lot more regal than his official artwork, for sure.

The map itself looks nice too and has some nice shading effects thrown in.

This chapter also features our first prepromoted unit, Libra. Libra is a strong spiritual wo

In any case, the strategy is to stall him with the three or so enemies who are attacking him until everyone else gets to him, or he's going to throw himself into his death at the bottom right part of the map.

Yeah, I'm not really switching up pairs anymore and just keep everyone with who they have their highest support level with.

Tharja is easy to lure and recruit and I let her finish off the boss. I waste a turn because I didn't want to risk getting critted with his 2 percent, though.

Oh no, Emmeryn is going to be executed again! I have the choice if I want to sacrifice her or not!

N-no! I... can't.... !!

But now Emmeryn is going to actually... herself...

Ow.

My feels.

8 turns taken.

Vaike and Nowi are the heroes of this chapter.

[Ike-Mike]

Paralogue 4

It's time to beat the other of the two sassy bandits once and for all.

In this maze-like level we meet Anna, who is a trickster. She tricks out all the enemies well enough that I can get to her and recruit her quickly.

Alright, she is a self-appointed locksmith, ready to help for those in need who forgot their keys inside.

Even when I have two lockpickers running about I still swiftly maneouvre many of my people through the map without opening any doors.

And look, it's loadsamoney!

I manage to snag all the treasures, except for an Arms Scroll, but that's okay, everyone's weapon proficiency is developing smoothly.

8 turns taken.

Michael S. and Miriel are the heroes of this chapter.

Since I got lucky with the event tiles this chapter and boosted Gaius' and Lissa's support up to A rank and there are still a few Risen running about, I decide to do a few skirmishes to make them hit S rank.

I need to point out how much I like that the text uses MAJUSCULES for emphasis very often. It reminds me of... Oh, Gaius and Lissa hit S rank already? Well, let's take a gander.....

Haha.

Hmm

Hm hmmm

Omg a real cat!

Haha

hmm

Alright!

haha

ohh....

Haha! Now that is an order!

The commoner and the royalty who refuses to become as spoiled as other royalty have finally entered a life long marriage.

But wait! These two aren't the only ones who are hitting S rank. Palne and Lon'zu want to get in on the fun, too.....

Oh

Oooooh aw

Heehee

That's nice

teehee

haha

Oh awww

awwwwwwww

awwwwwwwwwwwww

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

hmmmm?

Double Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Now able to leave their dark pasts behind, Palne and Lon'zu can being a new chapter in their lives and fester a lifelong marriage.

New forge!
Balcerzak

Flux +2 Mt +10 Hit +6 Crit

A book infused with the darkest magic of all: Science!

Chapter 10

This time on Feels Emblem, Chrom and everyone are stopped by a Plegian squad who are going through Emmeryn's death as much as everyone else.

Mustafa is the good and intelligent man who respect the legend God bless him

He also seems to be related to the King of Hyrule in some way, because he says "my boy" a lot.

... "Don't speak her name!" is a map theme? I mean, I've only ever listened to the first five or so seconds of it before because it's supposed to be this hugely emotional theme about this emotional scene that I shouldn't spoil, but I always assumed it was an event theme. I wasn't crying on this chapter, but I was certainly feeling worn out the entire way through. Some parts sound kind of like Disney music!

A lot of emotional turmoil happens on both sides and everyone is questioning their morals and intentions. I at least take priority towards the thieves, because I'm affected by Mustafa's speech about their sleaziness.

I like this map's design and the three paths you can split your army up. I also like the elevated terrain and how it seems so confusing and doesn't make any sense when someone below is getting attacked.

I hit level 20. It's time to bring out a master seal because I'll have to give myself a

Mustafa gets one-rounded by a surfer dude and a dragon girl.

5 turns taken.

Michael S. and Miriel are the heroes of this chapter.

Edited April 30, 2013 by Ike-Mike

[Ike-Mike]

Chapter 11

It's time for revenge and Chrom lets attack aggressively!

I split up my people into two groups, one to the left and another small group to the right. The group consists of a pair up of me with Miriel and Lon'zu with Palne. Despite the lack of resistance, I let Palne bait the mages because she has the health and dodging ability to hold them out. I let me and Miriel take down the sage.

I let Anna and Tharja run forward and bring Chrom with Sully to them with the use of a Rescue staff. They then block the middle fort and bait the bottom squad of units. They are aided by Vaike and Nowi and keep one-shotting whoever they can.

Anna and Tharja along with Stahl and Olivia split up to the left. Originally I had Cordelia and Donnel split up to the right, but those two pairs couldn't hold up on their own several times, so I made them head left as well.

Lots of reinforcement blocking happened. I made Anna open the left chest while I had Sully run to the right and open it with a spare chest key I had lying around in my supply.

Also Tharja was being hilarious as usual.

IMPORTANT PLOT BOSS: GANGREL

I let Sully attack him with a Killer Lance. Her crit didn't want to activate though so Nowi had to finish him off. The end.

4 turns taken.

Chrom and Sully are the heroes of this chapter.

Chrom is close to hitting level 20, so I do a few skirmishes to let him achieve his promotion.

But Chrom's promotion isn't the only fruit I could bear from those skirmishes. Libra and Tharja have unlocked their S rank support. Let us see what it entails, then.....

Mmm.

Mhm?

Oh.

Wha

Hee hee

Awww yes

Mhm

Oh. Hm..

Awwww

Haha okay

....

....

LMAO

After taking a look into each others' hearts, Tharja is decisively intertwined in a life-long marriage with Libra, who is her second most important person next to me now.

New forge!

Guile

Killer Axe +2 Mt +3 Crit

An axe that does its cuts with Sonic Booms.

New forge!

Integrity

Hammer +2 Mt +10 Hit

A hammer that is going to be most baller.

Chapter 12

Chrom gets to keep his army the way they were two years ago and the continent of Ylisse is at peace, but then Virion reveals that he is a duke from the continent of Valm to the West and that its emperor now threatens to conquer the entire world!

While I feel the text has been short and unintrusive enough so far I felt the cutscenes in this chapter to be far too long. Maybe the writers were allowing themselves a little leeway since we're about to reach the climax, but I still feel the banter between Virion and Zelcher could've been shortened without losing its comedic punch.

This chapter has many horses. That means they can go far, but they can't use any hit-and-run tactics this time. Those were annoying. I can leisurely move my units forward and occupy some chokepoints. That way several of my people reach level 20.

Sully promotes into a Paladin

Der Hero Vaike

I did a few tactical mistakes with Tharja, Libra and Zelcher though that almost got Zelcher killed. Zelcher didn't get much action afterwards, in any case.

Translation: My foot will transform into a foot

7 turns taken.

Vaike and Nowi are the heroes of this chapter.

But that's not all! Now Vaike and Nowi are about to reach S rank. What if I press the support option and see.....

Oh.

Oh..

Oh. Ooooh!

Aw

Oh aw

:((

:((((

Even when Nowi's life will continue for thousands of years, now she has a memento of those few years she was under Chrom and his army. The greatest memento.

Stahl promotes to a Great Knight. That's so great I took a picture.

New forge!
Lumi

Levin Sword +2 Mt +5 Hit +3 Crit

A blade which luminescense was granted by the great Thor Odinson.

New forge!

Freohr Datia

Killer Lance +2 Mt +10 Hit +3 Crit

A lance that kills others with love.

New forge!

kdanger

Arcthunder +2 Mt +5 Hit +3 Crit

An electric tome only for the greatest of adversaries.

Harvest Scramble

The two sassy bandits host a harvest festival now and everyone's invited. Except Risen are attacking and Chrom and his army have got to stop them.

I had to restart the chapter several times because the Counter Risen were getting me one way or another. But then one day I went through everything very quickly and smoothly, without even wasting turns.

The event tiles are numerous and helpful. The conversations are amusing too, though I feel I don't get the full picture because I don't have everyone yet.

During this chapter Miriel finally promotes to Sage.

This Risen says hi!

5 turns taken.

I give this DLC a Counter/10.

Chapter 13

Meramus the Magician is now also Merasmus the King of Plegia. He says there was this one religious person who helped rebuild the county and it's my own clone?! No, wait, now Merasmus keeps telling me how he's my father so that means we're twin borthers? I need to tell my sister about it! Also a Risen ambush happens.

In this chapter we need Henry, who is a cheerful guy who likes to make jokes about blood and guts. I wish I could go to a bar with him sometime.

I let Donnel and Lon'zu fly up with their wives to the left and right side respectively and take out the snipers. I leave Stahl and Olivia at the bottom and rush with Chrom, Sully, Miriel and me to the top. Miriel takes the boss down. The boss was a lot more eloquent than what I'm used from the Risen. In fact, he's so eloquent he needed a tophat and a monocle.

3 turns taken.

Stahl and Olivia are the heroes of this chapter.

Now Marth comes in and defends Chrom. Marth asks Chrom if they can have a deep conversation just between the two of them and he allows it? He won't keep denying it to her or even send his personal army after her to drive her off? That's just ludicrous!

So Marth is Lucina.

:(
I would've cried now if I wasn't sitting in a train full of people at the time.

Champions of Yore 2

Chrom and his people now take on every major male character in the series.

Because I took some of my worse units, the small deployment number and the harsh split of your armies, this chapter was still quite difficult. Good thing the Parallel Falchion can heal.

4 turns taken.

I give this DLC a Guy Power/10.

I recruit Roy. So he likes to travel and meet new places and cultures? That's a faucet of his personality I've never seen! Maybe we should pack our suitcases and go travel the world together sometime, Roy. Roy's our boy!

EXPonential Growth

Chrom and his people go against vegan zombies that give you lots and lots of EXP when you kill them.

The zombies run away quickly, which means you still won't get too many level ups even when you're trying. In fact, the only unit where I feel this chapter has been of benefit was Olivia.

The FE12 soundtrack is soothing to the ears and actually fits Awakening quite nicely. ...Days of Training actually has a reprise? I didn't know!

I give this DLC a I Have Newfound Appreciation For The FE12 Soundtrack/10.

Lon'zu and Cordelia also promote to Swordmaster and Falcon Knight respectively sometime on the way.

A friend also visited me recently. He only got the game a few days ago but he is already as far into the game as me. I have more evenly leveled units than him, but he has one or two units that completely outlevel me. This further shows how this game emphasizes different styles of play.

I thought once you pick your units for your Streetpass team their stats and equipment are updated automatically, but this is not the case. Now he only has to go against a bunch of weaklings while I'll have to go against his full fledged team. At least this Streetpass team has a few forges that are broken by now. But still, you have to update your Streetpass team manually every time!

Then I noticed that Stahl and Olivia have hit S rank by now. I peered into this conversation.....

Mhm

Hm?

Hahahahaha!

Then I had to fast forward the conversation because the friend thought it was getting stupid and we wanted to try out double duel.

We went against a team that starts out with a high leveled Hero. We were doing one or two points of damage at most. We managed to whittle him down to 1HP but then he got a few lucky Sol hits and obliterated our team entirely. The rewards there aren't that great anyway.

Now that I'm at the halfway point, my opinion on the game is more or less set. I'll still wait until I beat it for the final verdict, but if you want to see the direction it's going to go, just look to the left.

Edited May 5, 2013 by Ike-Mike

[Ike-Mike]

Chapter 14

It's Pirate Ship from FE7 except more claustrophobic.
I split everyone up into three groups and choke all the planks. It proves to be succesful, though the mages almost sent Vaike to death. I equip Tharja with Nosferatu and she can easily tank many hits and recover some of her energy? No wonder Nosferatu Sorcerers are considered broken! I meander around for a bit because I only brought Anna for treasure looting.

5 turns taken.
Sully and Lucina are the heroes of this chapter.

Now I spend the time finishing the remaining marriages and promoting everyone who hasn't yet. I also decide that, since I don't know how often I'll be replaying the game and I want to have that one main save file, I want to do it right at least with the skills and pass down Galeforce to those who couldn't get it otherwise, so I reclass Olivia to a Pegasus Knight.
I grind mostly only on skirmishes, while I keep thinking I should revisit Golden Gaffe and EXPonential Growth, especially now that my funds have almost run out. After all, I paid money for them.
I decide to take on both chapters with only my weakest units, as well as Donnel and Palne. Palne can already take out the promoted enemies all by herself! The others, not so much. Virion is hilariously lagging behind everyone.
I didn't get that many kills in EXPonential Growth, because the game decided to spawn a lot of those Lv30 Risen.

I wanted to marry Henry off to Sumia, but backed off after that A support. Frederick and Sumia are married for a lifetime, now. Zelcher and Kellam are also married because a nice compliment about your looks should be reason enough for a steady relationship.

New forge!
UtsuhoReiuji
Bolganone +1 Mt +5 Hit +3 Crit
A tome infused with explosive magic. There was once a wielder who seemed to say the worst things at the most unfitting times, even at his best intentions.

New forge!
Sirius
Rapier +1 Mt +5 Hit +3 Crit
A gentleman's sword that was once used in many a Defense of the Ancients.

Chapter 15

Chrom and his people fight off a few people on a port town.
While grinding, I decide to tackle this chapter out of curiosity. I was still in a 'grinding' mindset, so please take the turncount as a generous estimate. I needed about three turns to reach Say'ri after she got plenty of lucky dodges herself, and I visit every house with pretty much the same people every new turn.
The first thing I noticed when I played this chapter is how scaled the environment is. It might be even more true to scale than the Tellius games!

8 turns taken.
Olivia and Stahl are the heroes of this chapter.

Afterwards we meet up with Say'ri, who tells us there is a resistance movement going on and we ought to help them. So we do just that.
... one million troops? Heh, well played.

New forge!
Excellen
Javelin +2 Mt +10 Hit
A throwing spear with a medical degree. Knows about current goings-on in Germany.

New forge!
Ein
Bronze Lance +2 Mt +10 Hit
This lance belongs to an ancient spirit that is still somewhere somehow.

Chapter 16

Cervantes mentions that Chrom's army is on their way. Then a soldier reminds him that Chrom is on his way. Cervantes then insults him for repeating what he just said. He then overhears something and thinks the soldier is talking about his beard. Cervantes then makes a few compliments about his own beard.
That's why I love Awakening's writing. It's constantly jumping around between being funny and serious without being too much of either. It's like an actual conversation.
This chapter map is a giant tree, with its mighty roots spread on a giant body of water that are branching and cutting off paths. A fun and interesting map both in concept and level design, for sure.
This chapter also reminds me that though I've been grinding a lot, I'm still not invincinble. Both me and Olivia were under constant threat and Lucina didn't have an easy time either because I was more concerned with training her Lance weapon level.
On turn 4, reinforcements from behind have arrived. Falcon Knights arriving from both sides on the next turn is rather sneaky, too. Now my goal becomes taking down Cervantes asap so I won't get flooded with reinforcements. Palne has proven herself of taking care of that job easily.

5 turns taken.
Olivia and Stahl are the heroes of this chapter.

At the top of the Mila Tree we are greeted by Tiki. She mentions that we need to restore the Fire Emblem by gathering the five orbs. I like that the cutscenes are back to being short while still giving enough reasons for you to move forward and still leaving enough room for interpretation. What would be needed is a little more world building. I mean, Valm must have left the various dukedoms at least as governing bodies, right? Why can't we get the names of them?

Champions of Yore 3

Chrom and everyone else comes back and must fight everyone else they've fought in the previous two parts of Champions of Yore so far.
Ike is Hubba's favourite card? That guy's got taste. The quips about Ike's hair and Chrom's similiarites to him are especially funny considering who you can recruit very late in the game.
In this chapter the enemies always come in pairs. Their battle quotes even mention that. Deirdre's supposed loyalty to Sigurd still makes me giggle. Though, both Sothe's normal battle quote and what he says to Palne really are something Sothe would say.
During this chapter I notice Radiant Dawn's battle themes really were composed with fading in and out in mind.

After everyone is defeated there is foreshadowing about future DLC and that you can replay them anytime you want. I also got an All Stats+2 manual that I can grind for indefinitely.
Micaiah then admits herself that she is terrible at taking sides and even more incompetent at decision-making. This is everything that I could've hoped for.

I give this DLC a An Epic And Satisfying Conclusion/10.

Almost everyone is promoted by now. The dark mages have been turned to sorcerers, Zelcher is a Wyvern Lord while Palne is a Griffon Knight. Donnel is also a Bow Knight. The only ones left are Lissa and Maribelle and I'm thinking about reclassing them at level 10 already, training until they learn Galeforce and then never using them again. What do you think?

New forge!
BrightBow
Bronze Bow +4 Mt +10 Hit +6 Crit
This bow is inhabited by a spirit that refused to hang out with me irl.

Edited May 9, 2013 by Ike-Mike

[Specta]

I need to say that your forges with their descriptions are my favorite things ever.

also yes to maribelle mostly

make her majestic

unless you don't want to

[Ike-Mike]

Olivia learned Galeforce and I reclass her back to dancer. That's good.

Now I decide to tackle on Íñigo.

Paralogue 6

Íñigo wants to impress the ladies by killing a few bandits. Of course we are going to help him.

This chapter is an almost direct recreation of a map in FE: Gaiden. Even the boss has the same name! It's funny, because I mistook it was a homage to Pahn's paralogue in Thracia first.

I like how the map is basically split into two parts, an outdoor part where you have to fend off a squadron of fliers and an indoor part, which labyrinthine layout makes sure that you'll be sandwiched and attacked from all sides. The enemies hit fast and hit hard. I had to choke the entrance and constantly switch out units on the front lines and carefully selecting which enemy I'm going to take down from my back lines. In that way it reminds me of Thracia.

And then there is Íñigo.

His name is Íñigo, his father is right next to him, prepare to die. Now let us bury this "joke" forever.

Íñigo is the shy guy who is trying his darndest to be confident. Just when he thinks that nothing will move him anymore, spaghetti just starts filling his pockets from nowhere, only for it to gush out at intense pressure. This makes him instantly relatable.

And here is Íñigo's first level up!

He's also been getting lucky with Armsthrift. His Killing Edge is still at a full 30 uses at the time of this writing.

9 turns taken.

Cordelia and Donnel are the heroes of this chapter.

Upon completing the paralogue, a whopping four skirmishes show up! I use those to train Íñigo until promotion.

There was also a particularly difficult one that involved pegasi. I almost forgot this was supposed to be hard mode.

#me

I am instantly reminded. Except that Lucina actually sees through that he only meant it well and apologizes, and even gets into a relationship with him!

New forge!

Soul

Bronze Axe +2 Mt +10 Hit +6 Crit

A rookie's axe frequently found far from the forest.

New forge!
Fia

Nosferatu +2 Mt +5 Hit

A magic book loaded with FE4 THREAD magic.

Summer Scramble

Chrom and his friends decide to take a vacation, but bandits are attacking so they have to defeat them.

Stupid Japanese popularity polls. Now I had to deploy Cordelia in an axe-heavy chapter. I even had to restart a few times because someone got the better of her. Some counter skills got removed from some of the warriors that way, though.

The characters' reactions to the swimsuits are amusing. It's almost like the chapter is meant to be commentary towards the complaints about the game's aesthetics.

Tharja is also silly with how much effort she's putting towards me. Too bad I'm already married. The one thing that would make me stop and she's actually found it.

5 turns taken.

I give this DLC a Tharja Is Still Hilarious/10.

Afterwards I make Lissa ~majestic~ and reclass her back to a cleric. Now it's time to get Owain.

Paralogue 5

Owain screams the names of previous games in the series and decides to do justice in a nearby village.

Is the village supposed to be a specific one from Gaiden or is it supposed to be in homage to that? In any case, the scale in this map is astounding.

The chapter itself was easy. I didn't even have difficulty sending Owain to the front lines. The NPC sages were helpful and casting healing spells on my people, too.

4 turns taken.

Gaius and Owain are the heroes of this chapter.

Owain is heroic. So heroic in fact that his father is questioning his sanity.

I meet a weird battle cleric over streetpass with a magic tome he can't even use. I decide to buy the book off him and it costs how much?

Oh well, time to get broke.

Bought forge!

Wind Waker

Elwind +3 Mt +15 Crit

A magical artifact used to control the winds condensed into an offensive magic book.

Edited May 18, 2013 by Ike-Mike

[Ike-Mike]

I actually start using Spotpass teams for level grinding and also do a few multiplayer battles on the side. I also buy a forged tome off a friend.

Bought forge!

Shazam

Katarina's Bolt +5 Mt

The magic bolt that can turn any destined child into a superhero concentrated into a magic tome.

I finally make it to level 15 alongside Miriel and decide to take on the next few side missions.

Paralogue 12

Linfan finds herself lost in time. Chrom and his troupe decides to retrieve her.

I quickly carry myself over to recruit her and find out something

Huh? Okay, if you say so...

Linfan proves herself to be a very capable fighter, even when the points aren't choked for her sake and even moreso when I gave her Owain as backup.
The chapter itself drags on for a while because the only thief I brought with me was Gaius and he is flying with Cordelia through half the map to pick up every chest.

This boss is not only eloquent, but also has a clear goal in mind. Mother and daughter reward him with his defeat.

7 turns taken.

Chrom and Sully are the heroes of this chapter.

New forge!

TheEnd

Elfire +3 Mt +5 Hit +9 Crit

A magic tome imbued with the fiery passion of an old man.

Linfan inherited her mother's fiery red hair. Her personality is also all sorts of messed up, just like her father. She is daddy's little princess, alright.

She even gets Owain to do errands for him; to cook her food and search the entire country for the most beautiful gemstones. And when she finally comes to confess her true feelings she still reluctantly makes Owain guess what she wants. This is all so cute! Anyways, they're a married couple now.

Instead of going after my other child, Chrom and Sully also finally hit level 15 and we go after their remaining child.

Paralogue 8

Kjelle wants time for a duel, only to be sent into a trap and surrounded by bandits. It's up to Chrom and his group to save her.

This chapter reminds me of chapter 19 in Shadow Dragon in a way, except this one is better designed. I don't mind the reinforcements as they are excellent EXP fodder. Chrom and Sully reach the room with Kjelle within three turns, while Gaius and Libra take their time to run from the left treasure chest to the right. Chrom, Sully and Kjelle are busy fending off the reinforcements, anyway. Kjelle herself is really strong already though, and together with Sully they make an unstoppable team.

She even got a perfect level up!

8 turns taken.

Owain and Linfan are the heroes of this chapter.

I quite don't understand the complaints regarding the characters' personalities, since when they're supposedly one-note I still can't quite pinpoint at what personality some characters are supposed to have, like Kjelle for example.

New forge!

Samias

Iron Lance +4 Mt +15 Hit

A lance as old as its inhabiting spirit. It's supposed to turn anyone who wields it into an artist.

I now decide to swiftly pick up my other child.

Paralogue 14

There are rumours of a hidden village in the desert as bandits are roaming an oasis.

Laurent can be quickly found in a nearby village to the left. Originally I wanted to pass him on both parents' rally skills but then I thought that was stupid so I passed him on the same skills I gave to Linfan.

He proves himself to be a good unit and quickly dishes out justice.

The chapter would be over quickly if I didn't have to jump from one hidden village to another to finally find the Ashera Staff in a hidden tile. Am I sure those villages weren't just projections? With every new village loads of reinforcements arrive, but I can hold myself well against them with clever tactics, positioning and my team being generally overpowered.

10 turns taken.

Kjelle and Laurent are the heroes of this chapter.

New forge!

SlayerX

Bronze Sword +5 Mt +6 Crit

A rookie's sword that has been around for a long time.

Laurent's wordiness is inherited from his mother, for sure. I wonder if he has anything inherited from me. It turns out he is also a huge control freak. Kjelle wants him to be a control freak about her at all times and so they get married.

Palne also reaches level 15 that way, so I decide to pick up her child too.

Paralogue 13

There is a war between two rivaling mercenary groups going on. I have the choice to side with one group or neither.

I decide to go against both at the same time.

That was a good decision.

The enemy density is so huge I actually had to turn on the option to skip all enemy actions. It's good that it isn't like in Shadow Dragon anymore where it even skipped level ups and character deaths.

Yarne is also kind of cowardly, but it's okay, he is the last member of his race after all.

The village placement reminds me of chapter 3 in FE5. I actually waste a bit of time avoiding the bosses and visiting all the villages.

This coastline at the bottom left is also very pretty.

7 turns taken.

Chrom and Sully are the heroes of this chapter.

Afterwards I reclass Yarne into a barbarian. I've never had a barbarian before! I even give him a nice forged axe.

New forge!

Fruit Ninja

Bronze Axe +4 Mt

A rookie's axe forged by the gods a long time ago and left there.

Now I have a set goal in mind.

I will continue with the main story when I not only have all the children recruited, but have them reached level 10 promoted too.

Edited May 25, 2013 by Ike-Mike

[Ike-Mike]

Alright, it's time to go through more paralogues. And several they are...

Paralogue 10

Severa goes on her own revenge spree inside a well-defended fortress.

The first thing I notice is that when I talked to her with Cordelia, she will didn't join you. Instead Severa goes on a long journey of her own to recruit Holland, a villager forced to fight against you. That way the game actually parodies the arduous procress of recruiting someone into your army. Once again I need to say that this is what I really like about Awakening. The story itself never goes away from what you expect in a Fire Emblem, but it still finds the time to make fun of even those reoccurences throughout the series that you don't even notice until they're pointed out. And speaking of subtlety, Awakening's story might be minimalistic but it's still very dark at times, such as that Holland has to flee because his wife is pregnant.

I split my army up into three core groups, all of whom are supposed to choke points ahead of Severa. A doable task, outside from when a sage decides to attack the Kellam/Zelcher pair, but even then someone else can go choke in their place and I have Libra along with me for healing.

And what's this?

It's an Allzwecks. Now the chapter become a race against time so I can defeat this berserker and retrieve the Allzwecks.!

Naturally I am the one who retrieves the Allzwecks.

Those four stairs at the top look suspicious, I hope I can move Severa along safely after talking to Holl-- whoops, too late! Next attempt I just choke those four stairs while Kjelle and Laurent go on to defeat the boss.

14 turns taken.

Kjelle and Laurent are the heroes of this chapter.

Severa has a difficult character. However she had a mother who everyone looked up to and left her at an early age, so it's understandable.

She is easy to level and packs a punch too, so that's good.

After some leveling Sumia also finally learns Galeforce and it's time to go after her daughter.

Paralogue 9

Chrom wants dinner but doesn't get it because some bandit is passing himself off as Chrom and terrorizing the nearby village.

It seems everyone is illiterate and doesn't know how Chrom looks like, I mean, I couldn't tell the two apart.

Cynthia also couldn't tell the two apart, but she is easily swayed. Too bad it's difficult to train her on this chapter though, since it's overabundant with warriors and snipers.

I like how the map is laid out, with you fighting gradually through waves of enemies. There is a lot of place for everyone to manoeuvre around but there are still enough obstacles to be used for tactical advantage.

And what's this? The boss is convincing a bunch of mercenaries one by one to join his cause! Now the chapter become a race against time so I can defeat everyone before all the mercenaries can join the enemy!

5 turns taken.

Michael S. and Cynthia are the heroes of this chapter.

Cynthia is still somewhat difficult to train. Good thing there is a completely new weapon on the way to help her.

New forge!

Necktie

Beast Killer +2 Mt +5 Hit +6 Crit

A passive-aggressive lance than has slain many a mounted beast before.

Hot Spring Scramble

Chrom and his army go on a vacation to visit warm and recreational hot springs. It just so happens the Risen have taken a liking to the hot spring

It's also now the children's time to shine. Everyone is a lot less hung up about everything as they were in the beach episode. It's funny though how the usually jumpy Íñigo reacts when a woman is jumpy on him when Anna is trying on his yukata.

The conversations are all funny too.

Linfan proves herself to be a master prankster. She is my little cutie pie of a daughter, all right. And Lucina theorizes that Risen might still have a human side in them. Let the comparisions of Risen and Morphs begin!

I had to do some major troop arrangements so I could complete the chapter. It was difficult to keep Kellam and Zelcher alive with all those tricksters around. The reinforcements on turn 7, just before the swordmasters start to move, are especially deadly. Good thing I picked off most of those swordmasters from a distance.

10 turns taken.

After many long and difficult training sessions, I have finally made Maribelle ~majestic~ and now it's time to pick up her child.

Paralogue 7

Bandits are soiling a temple and it's up to Chrom's people and a bunch of NPC villagers to defeat them.

I like how, especially in the paralogues, even when the main objective is to rout the enemy or just defeat the commander there are still secondary objectives. This chapter and the placement of the villagers scattered around the temple turn this essentially into a 'king of the hill' style map. A few of the villagers die, but not all of them. After all the waves have been taken care of the boss and his wave start moving towards you and that's good.

5 turns taken.

Severa and Yarne are the heroes of this chapter.

Brady's father is Henry. Even the colour choice for his wardrobe is exactly the same as his daddy's! I immediately reclass him into an offensive mage and he quickly proves himself as a reliable fighter. Him paired up with Cynthia also shows me the magic of the mystical three-turn galeforce for the first time.

Severa and Yarne have reached S rank with their support level and wow, there you go guy! You are now the broest of bros!

Sometimes all the motivation you need to keep improving yourself in life is a woman.

And there is some interesting stuff going on with Brady and Cynthia too, with a mysterious helper involved.

[Ike-Mike]

So the secret blew up and it turns out Brady was Cynthia's secret protector all along. Still, it turns out it's a lucky day and both have been in love with each other all along.

In any case, I managed to train Libra to a reasonable level and now I'm about to pick his and Tharja's child up.

Paralogue 15

Noire gets taken hostage by a group of bandits and it's up for Chrom and his people to rescue her.

This map is filled with mounted units of all kinds, both flying ones and ones bound to the ground. I split my group up with one half heading north and the other heading west. It turns out the wall where Noire is trapped in is a cut-off point and if you want to travel further northways you have to fly. There are flying enemies nearby to the left and Noire can chip off a lot of HP off them. If you're lucky, they then will fly south where your party can finish them off. If you aren't, they'll fly north in an effort to kill Noire off. Luckily, Tharja and Chrom arrived in time to protect her and finish those enemies off.

What's more troubling is the group that headed to the west. It mostly consists of people I haven't used in a while, like Lon'zu and Cordelia reclassed into a paladin. Good thing I could switch her out for Donnel if things got really dicey.

Brady and Cynthia also did an extremely nice effort, Brady especially, even unpromoted and without wind magic.

7 turns taken.

Brady and Cynthia are the heroes of this chapter.

Noire is a timid and anxious person who can turn mad and spiteful towards you in the blink of an eye? It's not like I've seen that before, a natural blonde too, I think...

In any case, I took my time training Noire's parents so she could get tomefaire and vengeance and become a splendid mage right away. Since she has the ultimate sage skill, I reclass her to dark mage.

New forge!

Kay

Elfire +3 Mt +15 Hit +3 Crit

A magic tome that sends out blazes of airheadedness.

Paralogue 11

Morristan decides to claim the mountain where wyverns come from his own, but Chrom disagrees. Lots of fighting ensues.

I split up my units into the groups that push forward on each of the three vertical bridges, carefully but still quickly, no matter how many reinforcements will come in the way. Then there is also Geromy, who won't get much action in this chapter so he gets quickly paired up with Noire. Even with a dingy Flux tome, she can hold herself up on her own and even then Brady and Cynthia are there for backup.

6 turns taken.

Vaike and Nowi are the heroes of this chapter.

Now here's the funny story about Nowi. Everyone else seemed to have been outdoing her but now that I was using her in this chapter, I found out she could tank a lot of hits even when getting doubled, and any doubling issues were mostly mitigated by Vaike's dual strike. Then I reclassed her to a Griffon Knight and made her learn lancebreaker and now it's up to get her daughter.

Then there is also Geromy, the dork knight, always out there to protect Noire even outside of times of need. But Noire likes it anyway and even calls Geromy out that he's hesitant with plainly confessing his feelings. They're happily married now.

I also ppreciate how much of a physical powerhouse he is. I wanted to concentrate on his offense though, so I reclassed him to a fighter and then to warrior. Besides I don't have any other warrior in my army yet.

New forge!

US Raven

Alm's Blade +3 Mt +5 Hit +3 Crit

A sword for the serious and calculating type.

New forge!

UK Raven

Seliph's Blade +1 Mt +5 Hit +9 Crit

A sword for the fun and easygoing type.

New forge!

LukaMegurine

Volant Axe +2 Mt +15 Hit

The cool skyward axe, effective against Metal Gear.

Paralogue 16

Nah is trapped in a spooky mansion and it's up for her as well as Chrom and his people to find a way out.

Since it's the last paralogue I decide to bring out the children characters already. But there isn't enough space to include all of them? What a bummer. There are also plenty of doors and chests, so I bring Palne along too.

Everyone is just charging forward and steamrolling the competition. Except the chapter has walls that break and rejuvenate at intervals that you have to memorize if you want to be fast, but I wasn't. The Rescue staff was still used a lot, also to bring Nah in.

Apparently with my pairing I have made Nah into one of my best physical powerhouses and it shows already. Even without pairing up she can hold a chance on her own.

She also got a perfect level up.

11 turns taken.

Owain and Linfan are the heroes of this chapter.

New forge!

Sheth

Iron Axe +4 Mt +15 Hit +3 Crit

An axe that is as new as it is old.

New forge!
ShoMtheShow

Killing Edge +3 Mt +10 Hit +3 Crit

A blade that kills others with its sharp wit. Has a girlfriend.

Now that I have garnered all the children together, it is time for me to continue with the main campaign.. if there weren't so many leftover DLC and spotpass episodes left. I got Salem as a spotpass team recently. I fought and recruited him right away!

Here is also photographic proof that I call him Geromy just because and not because he's called like that in the German version.

Edited June 27, 2013 by Ike-Mike