Where to start.

[Racer4352]

My friends told me about fire emblem and I watched walkthroughs on YouTube and I LOVED it. I just don't know where to start... Any advice?

[Nightmare]

First advice I can give you is to post your Fire Emblem topics where they belong: in the Fire Emblem boards. I'll move this for you, so keep that in mind.

Happy posting! And starting with the first game to be released in the west (simply titled Fire Emblem) seems to be a popular choice, but Awakening could be an even better choice. I'd say it doesn't matter a whole lot, though.

[Kirie]

I would say Awakening is a pretty good choice for a beginner. I tried to get my husband to start off the series with "Fire Emblem" (Blazing Sword - FE7), but he had a hard time getting into it. He gave the series another shot when I picked up Awakening and he loves it. Awakening is a more forgiving game than some of the earlier ones (especially with the option for casual mode) and offers a lot of options. Even better, based on what you like about Awakening, it's easy to suggest the next game to play. Loved the generational mechanic? Get an English patch of Genealogy of the Holy Wars. Loved the ability to easily level new units and/or have different promotion options? Sacred Stones should come easily. Once you begin to branch into the older games, it becomes even easier to get into the correct mindset to play and enjoy them all.

[Superfan959]

I would recommend FE7, despite what was posted above (not to devalue the opinion). It has the most involved tutorial in the series, to the point where it will be rather tedious if you play it after you've played another game and already know what you're doing.

[Shadow Mir]

I'd start with FE7 first because of the tutorial.

[Irysa]

Reccomending FE7 because of a forced tutorial is stupid. Most of the other games have tutorial functions within them too and teach the player just as (if not more) effectively, so the only REAL reason to go for 7 first is because it makes the start slightly less excruciatingly boring; which is only helpful towards one's enjoyment towards 7 as a game, not neccessarily as an introduction to the series.

To the OP, reccomendations mean little without context. Give examples of games you enjoy for more useful advice. My own two cents; go with Shadow Dragon (FE11).

FE1 to 5 are all probably somewhat bad ideas for places to start given their age, the general speed and interfaces are rather obtuse sometimes.

FE6 (Binding Blade) and 7 (Blazing Sword) play similar and are relatively basic, but have most of the core components of the series. 7 is a prequel to 6, but they're not closely related so can be enjoyed independantly. There's not really anything they do particularly well or do particularly poorly (aside from FE6 being somewhat more luck reliant due to bad hitrates). FE7 has a lengthly forced tutorial campaign that can be annoying to experienced players. There's some nice characterisation here and there but a lot of it's locked away behind the awkward support system.

8 (Sacred Stones) has a world map and allows you to shop and fight random enemy monsters to level up your characters as you please, making it more akin to typical RPGs.It's also far easier than the other two, most would say it's the easiest in the series. Narratively speaking, it's stronger than the other GBA titles but again, awkward support system hides most of it.

9 (Path of Radiance) is also relatively easy, especially made so because of the ability to use extra EXP on your units inbetween chapters to level them up. The speed of the game is a little sluggish compared to the other titles, but aside from that it's strong on all fronts; Great story and characterisation that isn't tedious to unlock, lots of attention to detail, wide variety of map design and objectives, awesome music, etc.

10 (Radiant Dawn) is a direct sequel to 9, and there's no point in playing 10 before 9 so you may as well forget starting here tbh. It's significantly harder, and has a lot of cool ideas and implements mechanics that unfortunately it doesn't always utilise effectively. The plot doesn't really live up to it's predecesor either. It has map saves on the default difficulties which help with the accessability.

11 (Shadow Dragon) is a remake of the original game. It removes most of the mechanics implemented into the series following the original NES title, but it adds a few of it's own. The game is somewhat simple, but it has a lot of possibilities by merit of the reclassing system (although said system also makes individual characters less distinct). It has preset map saves per chapter, which can help for some of the longer maps or if you make a mistake, making it more forgiving. The script is easily the best in the whole series, but the amount of characterisation for non main characters is almost nonexistant. It's a little visually dull too, but in terms of scale and execution it captures the series perfectly, making it a decent place to start. (unsurprising, considering it's a remake of the original)

12 (New Mystery of the Emblem) is a remake of the sequel to the original game, but since it explains it's backstory far better it's not as bad to start here. Still wouldn't reccomend it though. It mechanically updates 11 significantly and has even more experimentation available, along with a first for the series; A customisable unit that functions as your character. It also updates some of the story and adds new subplots, but these are mostly unwelcome additions. It's relatively challenging, but in a well designed way. The Casual Mode option was first introduced here, where your units don't permanantly die when defeated.

13 (Awakening) has the highest production values of any game in the series. Most would say it doesn't use them effectively but the amount of budget put into this game really shows. Narratively and character wise it's a bit more in line with mid 2000 to present anime stereotypes, which also puts some people off, but equally draws in others. It has a world map where you can shop and fight too, like 8, and it's also pretty easy. Casual Mode is present here too, and you can save anywhere in a map with it. Plus the creatable unit returns too.

Edited September 26, 2014 by Irysa

[Shadow Mir]

Reccomending FE7 because of a forced tutorial is stupid. Most of the other games have tutorial functions within them too and teach the player just as (if not more) effectively, so the only REAL reason to go for 7 first is because it makes the start slightly less excruciatingly boring; which is only helpful towards one's enjoyment towards 7 as a game, not neccessarily as an introduction to the series.

To the OP, reccomendations mean little without context. Give examples of games you enjoy for more useful advice. My own two cents; go with Shadow Dragon.

My two cents on the matter, though, is that if he started with some other game, he'd probably find the tutorial boring to play through.

[Irysa]

Yeah but that's just in benefit of FE7, not it's purpose as a place to start. It's like reccomending someone play a bad game in the series first so they don't go into everything with high expectations. When reccomending a starting title, you should consider the starting game in a vaccum.

Also I updated my post with some general outlines.

Edited September 26, 2014 by Irysa

[Shadow Mir]

Yeah but that's just in benefit of FE7, not it's purpose as a place to start. It's like reccomending someone play a bad game in the series first so they don't go into everything with high expectations. When reccomending a starting title, you should consider the starting game in a vaccum.

Also I updated my post with some general outlines.

Mayhaps, though I didn't mention that some of the other FEs have accessibility problems or other problems that make them bad places to start (mainly PoR, RD and Shadow Dragon, the last for having the tutorial practically force a sacrifice, which is likely to turn him away from the game).

Edited September 26, 2014 by Levant Caprice

[Irysa]

The sacrifice thing in Shadow Dragon is handled pretty tastefully narratively, and mechanically speaking there's no reason to hold prejudice towards it in particular unless you're also a veteran and adhere to perfect playthroughs (no deaths). I'd be interested to hear why you think 9 has accessibility problems however.

[Shadow Mir]

The sacrifice thing in Shadow Dragon is handled pretty tastefully narratively, and mechanically speaking there's no reason to hold prejudice towards it in particular unless you're also a veteran and adhere to perfect playthroughs (no deaths). I'd be interested to hear why you think 9 has accessibility problems however.

Actually, when I said it had accessibility problems, I meant that it'd be hard to find.

And honestly, I think that forcing a sacrifice would be in poor taste in a series where lost party members are gone for good, no matter how it's handled.

Edited September 26, 2014 by Levant Caprice

[Irysa]

The point of it is to show that mechanic in action though. It isn't treated lightly either, Marth even beats himself up about it afterwards. Man I'm practically just spoiling the whole thing now. :\

If anything the fact certain characters can return in a a certain other game that I'm not going to mention is in poor taste, not the example where it's given due nobility.

[Shadow Mir]

The point of it is to show that mechanic in action though. It isn't treated lightly either, Marth even beats himself up about it afterwards. Man I'm practically just spoiling the whole thing now. :\

If anything the fact certain characters can return in a a certain other game that I'm not going to mention is in poor taste, not the example where it's given due nobility.

The thing is, permanent death is one of the reasons why some people fine FE hard to get into - I'd say actually forcing a situation that's virtually no different doesn't help in that regard. =/

...And believe it or not, my interest in FE has been fading for some time, mainly thanks to Shadow Dragon. But that's me going on a tangent.

Edited September 26, 2014 by Levant Caprice

[Irysa]

Which is why it's a good idea to put the concept to the forefront as it's been an important part of the series for decades?

If someone doesn't like permadeath at all and they find it alienates them from the series, then they're going to be having that problem in any other game, not just SD for having it "forced" (It's only forced if you play normal mode, which you don't have to either since it has a sensible difficulty system unlike 7). Besides, we don't even know of the OP feels that way or not!

[Shadow Mir]

Which is why it's a good idea to put the concept to the forefront as it's been an important part of the series for decades?

If someone doesn't like permadeath at all and they find it alienates them from the series, then they're going to be having that problem in any other game, not just SD for having it "forced" (It's only forced if you play normal mode, which you don't have to either since it has a sensible difficulty system unlike 7). Besides, we don't even know of the OP feels that way or not!

Well, that's true. That being said, I wouldn't see someone who's new to the series immediately going to a harder difficulty right out of the gate.

[Irysa]

Nah, people should play the prologue on Shadow Dragon anyway even if they're experienced and are going to swap to a different difficulty afterwards. It adds nicely to the game's plot and sets the scene very well. However, since SD has 6 difficulty settings, H1 is barely any harder than normal really.

Edited September 26, 2014 by Irysa

[Jotari]

I'd stay start with Fire Emlbem for the Gameboy Advance. It has a forced tutorial that I imagine is good for new time players but can quite annoying if you know all the mechanics already. Plus it's recently been put on the EShop so let Nintendo know people are into Fire Emblem. Maybe they'll localize the Japanese only ones.

[PrismaticStar]

FE8 (Sacred Stones) or FE13 (Awakening). FE8 is a completely self contained story and isn't a sequel or prequel to any other Fire Emblem game, it has arguably the prettiest sprite-work, and it's definitely one of the easiest Fire Emblem games. Awakening is also very easy and newcomer friendly and it is the newest so there's no need to worry about whether or not the game has aged well.

[Nobody]

I'd start with Fire Emblem, for the GBA (also known as blazing sword or fire emblem 7)

[sirmola]

What consols do you own in what regions?(if you own a 3ds, does it have embasedor status?), Aditionaly, do you plan to use emulators?(because some games are obscenely expensive, And 1-6 and 12 literaly can not be played in english without emulation). If i were you, would play sacred stones (8) first, because a relatively easy game is a good starting point, and sacred stones includes lots of basic elements while also having a good amount of comblexiity and a nice plot. Awakening is also a good starting point for many of the same reasons, and the ability turn perma-death off is nice, But it's plot has issues (chief among the is the fact that the avatar character is a marry sue/marty stu), and the characters are rather anime.

[Alertcircuit]

Fire Emblem on GBA (FE7) has a tutorial system for the first 10 chapters of the game and is best played when you're new.