Eldigan

The work-in-progress GBA fan remake of FE4 (SquareRootOfPi's FEIV: Inheritors of the Crusade) is actually very well done. It improves on the original GBA engine to provide skills, expanded weapon types, and other FE4-exclusive features (which will hopefully include marriage/inheritance). It also splits up the original chapters into smaller portions; it has 10 chapters covering the original game's first 3 chapters or so. I wouldn't bet on any official remake being better than it. If you want to check it out, it's on the first page of the Fan Projects subforum. I'd put a link to it here, but for some reason I can't paste in the Reply box.

Genealogy of the Holy War: This isn't just my favorite FE game, it's one of my favorite games of all time along with Metal Gear Solid 3 and Final Fantasy VII. FE 4 is what a war game should be. Epic plot (epic in the traditional sense, not in the "epic win" sense), serious characters, tragic twists, and great gameplay topped off by an almost-flawless inheritance system. FE 4 truly gives you the feeling of warfare between nations on a grand scale, and canonically powerful characters (such as those with holy blood) are actually backed up by strong stats in game to the point where commoners cannot compare (as opposed to most FE games, where a random villager can become more powerful than the continent's "lords" and "heroes" after a dozen battles). Additionally, the cast is the best in the series, having the greatest protagonist (Sigurd) and the most compelling villain (Alvis). Path of Radiance: I think this was the first FE game that I played. I really like the story, there is a decent balance between characters, and the Black Knight is a great antagonist throughout the Tellius series. This is the first game with an expanded "Base" feature, which I think was a really good addition to the series. Blazing Sword: The GBA games are very simple in terms of gameplay, but it feels just right. I've played so many ROM hacks based on this one, and I still haven't gotten tired of the GBA mechanics. Among the official GBA games, this one has the best story. The Black Fang has a compelling storyline; I would love to play a game with Brendan, Lloyd, Linus, Uhai, and Legault as the main protagonists during the early days of the Fang. Thracia 776: This is the only FE game where you pretty much always feel that the odds are stacked against you and that your army is in a rather desperate state at all times. The story is great, and I am a big fan of the Jugdral series so I love the extra character development, but the difficulty turns me off. It's not that it's "too hard", but rather "too gimmicky". You get enemy reinforcements spawning completely unannounced the beginning of their phase, random traps, a barrage of long-range attacks, very limited funds, and I really didn't like the fatigue system. Capturing, however, was a neat addition and I'm disappointed that it didn't return for future games. Radiant Dawn: I liked the story a lot when I first played it (as it was one of my first FE games), although in retrospect it is inferior to a lot of the other entries in the series. The endgame in particular can get really tedious (that mansion chapter really sticks out in my mind...), but the first couple parts were well-done. Again, I'm a big fan of the Black Knight's role. Sword of Seals: See: number 3. The reason it's lower is that the story is a little blander, Roy is simply way too bad, and I don't like the low accuracy. Sacred Stones: See: numbers 3 and 6. The reason it's (even) lower is that it's too easy given the canonical setting (fugitive prince and princess trying to reclaim their kingdom and save the world), and I'm not a fan of Lyon as a villain. Also, there aren't many memorable characters other than Seth destroying everything. The Archanea games: I've only played the DS remakes. I don't like the gameplay that much, and I really don't like the introduction of the Avatar. I don't want to have a self-insert in the game that takes up a large part of the story. Awakening: It was fun, but it lacks any real substance. There's way too much fanservice, and the interaction between characters as well as their personalities gives the impression of a high school drama rather than a war to save the world. However, it deserves credit where credit is due; Awakening broadened the FE franchise to a large audience, which is good for the series. I haven't played Fates or Gaiden.

That's what I'm wondering: how do you keep save data after downloading and extracting a new version of the game? I can't locate any obvious save file.

If/when a new patch is released, how do we load our old save data to continue the game?

I doubt Cyas had Lopt blood, or else it would have been mentioned somewhere. Don't forget that Cyas is Aida's son, not Deirdre's.

I gave Delmud the extra Hero Sword that Seliph received from Patty, which made him pretty decent. Seeing as (1) he's mounted, and (2) swords are the best weapon in FE4, Delmud's definitely not a bad unit. As others have said, he's simply outclassed by Seliph and Aless due to Seliph having Sigurd's CritSword and Aless having the Mystletainn.

You hit the nail on the head. I think this describes Trabant's situation very well. There's two interpretations of this: (1) Trabant continues to be stubborn to the last and hopes Arion will finish the battle in his place, or (2) Trabant wants Arion to surrender but his ego stops him from saying so outright. It sounds like the latter is true, but it seems Arion interpreted it to be the former, since he explicitly says that he refuses to surrender because of Trabant's last words. Of course antagonists are flawed, that's why they're antagonists :P A better way to put it is that many of FE4's antagonists have redeeming qualities (such that they aren't purely evil), and some of FE4's protagonists are flawed (e.g., Levin's irresponsibility in the first generation, Cuan's overzealousness leading to the Yied Massacre, etc). Actually, this is one of the reasons why I like FE4 so much; it mirrors reality, which is almost never black-and-white when it comes to good vs. evil. Levin sums this up really well when he talks to Celice about the Lopt Sect: "You have to be careful when placing labels on good and evil, Celice. Never waste your anger on individuals. Always focus it on the evil within all of us."

Ethlin wasn't a soldier in the Yied Massacre; she was only accompanying Cuan for a short while and was caught in the ambush. Trabant knew she was carrying Altenna, but decided to kill her anyways. As for Trabant's personality, it's difficult to tell whether he was whitewashed afterwards or if he was designed with the intention of being a tragic villain. He does say “Areone, I’ve grown tired. It’s me they’re after anyway. Do as you see fit after I’m gone, okay?”, which in my opinion is the strongest evidence that shows he realizes his past wrongdoings and regrets them. However, shortly before this, he orders Altenna to kill women and children during the attack on Manster and captures Hannibal's son as blackmail... I guess Trabant's a complicated character torn between his innate sense of justice and the "merciless tough guy" attitude that he had to show in order to keep Thracia alive.

That makes sense, and you are right, maybe I am reading too much into it. However, I can't shake a strong feeling that whatever happened here caused Trabant to have a dramatic shift in plans. Before the attack on Mease, Trabant says: "Blume’s dead, is he? The empire has finally been purged from Thracia! It’s time to take action, and Manster is first on the list." At this time, he was very confident and fully intended to re-take Northern Thracia. But after his conversations with Altenna (including the next one where she confronts him about her true parentage), he decides to intentionally sacrifice himself to the Liberation Army. It seems like his guilt over this confrontation pushed him over the edge. I would be hesitant to bring FE5 story into this situation, since I doubt any of that was developed yet during FE4's release, but I agree with you that Trabant's "suicide rush" is a nonsensical move from a purely strategic point of view. He even knew this, which is why he passed on Gungnir to Arion since he knew he was going to die. Therefore, the only reason I can think of for his actions is due to guilt, and in some small way atoning for his past actions. With regards to Ethlin: please read the excerpt from the designer's notes that I posted above. While Trabant is indeed willing to go very far for the sake of his country, there is a difference between selling his services as a mercenary and killing a helpless woman in the desert. Despite doing what he had to do, he always had a bad taste in his mouth about the methods that he was forced to use.

At the beginning of Chapter 9 in FE4, after Trabant scolds Altenna for not participating in the attack on Manster, Arion says: I've played through FE4 numerous times, but I've never understood what Arion was referring to. It seems clear to me that this is a prelude to Trabant's suicide attack on the Liberation Army... but what exactly did happen to cause Trabant's "dismay"? Did he already foresee Thracia's eventual defeat after losing Mease? That seems like a bit of an overreaction. Or did Altenna's words to him finally tip him over the point of regretting his past actions? As the designer notes say: I would be inclined to say that Trabant realizing his actions were wrong is the correct explanation, if not for the fact that he immediately follows it up by kidnapping Corple/Sharlow and threatening to kill the kid. So... does anyone know what Arion meant? Maybe the original Japanese text has more subtlety that was lost in translation, so I would appreciate it if anyone who knows Japanese can check.

Dang, two years per release... that would mean six more years to finish. But hey, you've done an absolutely fantastic job and if it takes time, it takes time. Thanks for the update!

Wow, I've been looking forward to this for over a year. Fantastic work overall, one of (if not THE) best FE hack I've ever played. I love the skill system, the difficulty, the chapter designs, and the small improvements here and there (like the different colored stats for different growth %s). Some points to consider: Sigurd should be buffed. Maybe he shouldn't be as OP as he was in the original game, but he's flat-out terrible in this version. Can't double after the first couple chapters, takes forever to level up, and has low growths. Even in terms of story, it doesn't make sense for the "hero" Sigurd to be substantially weaker than half his army. The text is almost flawless in terms of faithfulness to the original, but I've noticed a few "sirs", "lords", and "kings" that weren't capitalized where they should be (e.g. "king Shagall"). Is there a way to repair weapons? I've noticed that some broken weapons stay in the inventory with 0 uses, but I haven't figured out what to do with them. Dead characters' items seem to disappear into the abyss instead of returning to storage. The Holy Weapon diagram on the Skills screen seems to be the same for all characters regardless of holy blood. Do you have a rough timeline for future releases (more chapters, supports, promotions, etc.)?

^ That IS a pretty good goal. Isco's goal for Spain wasn't bad, either.

Good story, good characters, good writing. Nice hack, looking forward to more.

Hey, hey... calm down guys. I assume Dewey is looking for positive feedback to improve the game, which is why I made a few suggestions. It's completely up to him whether or not to implement them. The hack is more difficult than the majority of canon FE games, so it's reasonable that some people may have trouble with certain chapters.