Fire Emblem's 27th Birthday.

[Armagon]

*Insert 420 blaze-it joke here* Today, on April 20th, 2017, Fire Emblem celebrates it's 27th Birthday. So, to celebrate, I thought that I should create this thread where we can all take this time to look back on our experience with the Fire Emblem series. You can even throw in you're experience with the community if you want. So, allow me to start.

My first Fire Emblem game was Sacred Stones. Well, it was the first one I played. It wasn't actually mine. I only got to play it a few times on my friend's 3DS, since he had the Ambassador Program (still salty that the 3DS still doesn't have GBA Virtual Console). But I enjoyed my short time with it. It wasn't until the Christmas of 2013 that I got Fire Emblem Awakening. This was my true entry into the series. And I very much enjoyed Awakening. My very first playthrough of the game was Normal/Classic run. It......didn't go well. I was 13 at the time, so i didn't know that soft-reseting was a thing. So basically, my first run was an Iron Man run of the game (is that the term for Fire Emblem nuzlocks?) I got to Ch.6 but i lost a lot of units by that time, so i reset the entire game and started a new run, this time on Normal/Casual. I still had a bit of trouble with the game, but I pulled through. I had known about the marriage mechanic before i played the game but I was genuinely surprised by the Children Characters. Lucina didn't surprise me because wibbly wobbly, timey wimey stuff, but I was genuinely surprised when I discovered Morgan, and eventually, Nah (yes, i married Nowi the loli dragon on my first playthrough). Legit, my reaction when I saw Morgan was "Wait, I can have children in this game?!". During my first playthrough of Awakening, i spent a lot of time grinding, mainly cuz i sucked. I remember the chapter that gave me the hardest trouble (not counting the Spotpass maps) was Ch.19. After like, 2 weeks, I beat Fire Emblem Awakening, and I enjoyed it. I became very interested in the rest of the series but I took me a while before I would play my next Fire Emblem game, Fire Emblem: Blazing Blade.

It was around May when I first played Blazing Blade. I emulated it. Kinda had to since i had zero access to a GBA, not to mention that pre-Awakening Fire Emblem is hard to find in stores. 13-year old me didn't think to look online (but i doubt my parents would've let me buy a GBA anyways). Going from Awakening to Blazing Blade took some slight getting used too. Some of Awakening's mechanics such as the danger area and the ability to skip phases weren't in Blazing Blade so it slightly bothered me. But i got used to it. There was a fast-forward button on my emulator. While I very much enjoyed Awakening, i found myself enjoying Blazing Blade even more. It was this game that trained me in the ways of Classic Mode. At the time, I only had access to the free version of the My Boy! emulator, so whenever I lost a unit, i had to reset the map. This.....drove me insane on a few maps, particularly Ch.27. Oh, and Endgame as well. I finally beat Nergal only to get one-shot by the Fire Dragon and having to start the whole thing all over again. One of the things that surprised me the most about Blazing Blade were the fact that Paladins could wield Axes, something they can't do in Awakening. The Ballistas also surprised me. But what surprised me the most were just how good the battle animations are. In my personal opinion, the GBA games have the best animations in the entire series. Especially the critical hit animations. Anyways, when I had beaten Blazing Blade (got the Eliwood x Ninian btw), i decided it was time to continue the story and move on to Binding Blade.

Binding Blade is my favorite game in the series, as of now. I was surprised by the step-up in difficulty compared to Blazing Blade (Ch.7 drove me nuts and Ch.21 killed my soul). Fun fact, the first time i played Binding Blade, it was entirely in Japanese. I didn't know how to patch ROMs. It was a interesting experience. My second time playing the game was in English and i enjoyed it. One of my favorite things about Blazing Blade was Battle for Whose Sake. That song perfectly fits Zephiel, and shoutout to Zephiel for having the coolest sword in the series. Also, I was amazed by just how quickly the Roy x Lilina Supports max out. One of the challenges I had in Binding Blade was Fae, mainly because I really didn't want to waste her Dragonstone, since there is only one in the entire game. I didn't realize I had to bring her for Ch.24 and the Endgame. So it was quite an experience. I also do this weird thing in Binding Blade where I'll always bench Raigh and Niime and use Sophia instead. I know she's the worst of the three Shamans but i still found myself using her more often. Same with Lilina. By the time she joins, you already have Lugh but i don't think i have ever used Lugh. Lilina has always been my best Mage in Binding Blade. Now that it seems pre-FE7 Fire Emblem games are getting remakes, my biggest hope is for Binding Blade to get one.

Once I had beaten Binding Blade, i moved on to where it all started for me: Sacred Stones. This time, I would finish the game. Since i had just finished Binding Blade, Sacred Stones seemed too easy for me......for the most part. See, on my first playthrough, i went with Ephraim's route and......Phantom Ship. I think that tells you everything. But for the most part, i had a pretty easy time with the game. Like the previous games in the series, I enjoyed it.

Then came the Archanea games. I originally tried playing Shadow Dragon, but DS emulators suck, so i quit and played Mystery of the Emblem instead, as that contained a built-in remake of the original Shadow Dragon. And of course, i played the actual Mystery of the Emblem afterwards. My overall thoughts on FE3 is that it's good, but i didn't enjoy it to the extent I did with Awakening and the GBA games. One of the things that confused me with FE3 though, was that mounted Cavaliers couldn't use swords. It was weird but i got used to it.

And then came my time to finally play the Judgral games. And this is.........well, let's just say that Judgral is my least favorite FE series. I still enjoyed Genealogy of the Holy War though. The story and music was good, i liked the characters (most of them. I didn't like Sigurd), and i found conquering multiple castles to be satisfying. I still had problems with the game, mainly game-play related, but i won't get into it unless you want me to. As for Thracia 776.......I just noped out of it after a few chapters. Tharcia is my least favorite game in the series. I did not like the Fatigue mechanic. Thankfully, Echoes is handling Fatigue much better.

I've got nothing to say on Tellius because i've never played the games, despite the fact that i really want too. My PC just can't run the games. My only hope is for Tellius to be put on Switch Virtual Console (oh yeah, i have a Switch btw).

As for Gaiden, I got up to Ch.3 but I stopped playing because Echoes was announced. So i decided to just wait.

I purposely skipped Fates because it would take a rather big chunk of this, so i wanted to save it for the end. When Fates was announced, my hype shot through the roof. I had not experienced that much hype since Smash 4 was revealed at E3 2013. I was happily looking forward to Fates release. However, it was also at this time that i kinda became scared of the FE fanbase. It happened after that Japan exclusive Direct that showed off My Castle. Seeing all the hate Fates was getting prior to it's release gave me a negative impression of the FE community, especially this place. Of course, now that i've spent some time here, i realized that we're all nice to each other but i'm also told that recently in the past, the community had a negative outlook, particularly to a certain crossover. Anyways, Fates released, I bought it, and I enjoyed it. I enjoyed it more than Awakening. I started with Conquest on Hard/Classic. That Endgame still gives me war flashbacks. I enjoyed Birthright the least of the three but i still enjoyed it. I know most people don't but I enjoyed Revelation a lot, Especially it's maps. I never found them to be annoying or anything. Even Ch.10. Also, now that i look at this, my Awakening paragraph is the biggest one. Also, Lost in Thoughts All Alone is genuinely an amazing song. I married Azura because of that. Oh and story time: On the day of the Final Smash Direct, I predicted that a Fire Emblem character would be announced. What I didn't predict was that it'd be Corrin.

And yeah, that's my reflection on my experience with the Fire Emblem series. I am very much looking forward to Shadows of Valentia, Fire Emblem Warriors, and FE16. On a related note, during the Switch presentation, my hype shot through the roof when Xenoblade Chronicles 2 was announced and then immediately afterwards, Fire Emblem Warriors was announced. My top two favorite video game series are getting games on the same year (though i'm still skeptical on NoA's claims that Xenoblade 2 will release this year).

Anyways, I want to here from you. What's your experience with the Fire Emblem series?

[Anacybele]

Also PoR's 12th birthday! Happy birthday to one of my favorite games and series of all time. <3

PoR was my first FE game after I read about it due to playing Ike in Brawl and then getting my stepdad to buy it for me at GameStop. They had one used copy for $30 which I still have, but haven't touched in forever because I'm afraid of it not working anymore. My used copy of RD started glitching too much, so yeah. Though amazingly, I found a brand new copy of RD after that in a Walmart. The used RD is simply a collector's item now to show that hey, I have TWO copies of a very rare game! lol

I also kind of owe my love of Ike and his games to my younger brother who is sadly now dead (he committed suicide a year and a half ago). He was the first of us two to try out Ike in Smash, and he got me into playing him and as soon as I fell in love with Ike and his games myself, my brother and I started fighting over him in the SSE. lol Good times...

Also, my very first time playing PoR was much like yours for Awakening, Armagon. lol Lost a lot of units because I didn't think of resetting and I was a newb at this type of gameplay. XD The tutorials made me much better after awhile though, and I restarted, just like you did.

Edited April 20, 2017 by Anacybele

[Gruntagen]

To think it's been 5/4 years since FE13 came and turned Fire Emblem into something almost completely unrecognizable to me...

[Ertrick36]

Yeah, let's be blazin' while we play FE!  I've actually never toked in my life.

Anyway, I had a mild interest in strategy before getting into FE.  I played Valkyria Chronicles not long before FE, and way back when, I enjoyed the Chronicles of the Sword campaign of Soul Calibur 3.  The most I knew of FE before actually playing it was what I learned from Super Smash Bros; it had some anime swordsmen, and apparently was mostly a Japan-only series.  Even back then, though, I enjoyed using Ike in SSB Brawl.  I tried using Marth and Roy in Melee, but... I dunno.  I guess they didn't click with young preteen me.

Then in the Christmas of 2014, I got a 3DS and a plethora of games from my sister, which included Animal Crossing, Tomodachi Life, Super Smash for 3DS, and FE Awakening.  I didn't even ask for the last game, but my sister knew me well.  That night, I started up Awakening, unsuspectingly; I didn't have any expectations, really.  Then I found myself playing it more and more, and soon enough, about a hundred hours of my life had been dedicated to this game I knew nothing about beforehand; there's no doubt in my mind that it was my most played 3DS game before I got Fates.  I don't know how exactly to put it into words...  It was surreal, playing FE for the first time.  Here was a game that ten years ago I wouldn't have given a second thought, but as an adult is the most appealing kind of game to me.

After a couple of playthroughs of Awakening, I went on to get New Mystery of the Emblem.  I'm not sure how I made the jump from the most mainstream FE game to a Japan-only remake that's also a sequel of sorts, but I did.  And sure enough, I really enjoyed that game as well.  I also got Shadow Dragon DS after that, but given it was lighter on the difficulty (barring the avatar's existence in NM) and didn't have the smorgasbord of new features New Mystery did, it wasn't quite the same.  But I've been slowly appreciating it more and more.

Lately, I've been playing other FE's off and on.  IS isn't making it much easier for me to finish any of them, releasing all these frickin' FE games lately.

[Yula]

I started with Rekka no Ken, since then I've nearly played the entire series.

[Sunwoo]

I still can't believe I'm older than this fucking series.

[Thane]

And happy birthday Lucina.

That's far more important, am I right, lads?

[Godhand]

3 hours ago, Thane said:

And happy birthday Lucina.

That's far more important, am I right, lads?

Lucina is the best thing to come out of Fire Emblem, so yes.

It also happens to be Hitler's birthday, though...

[Interdimensional Observer]

I was a typical Melee inductee. I remember getting FE7 in an Easter basket. No matter how my relationship with Nintendo's other major series will go, FE shall forever provide comfort for me, and I shall be devoted towards it.

Let us offer a toast to the series.

Somebody, get me a Binding Shield-shaped Baked Alaska plus a blowtorch and some bourbon, and we'll have a real Fire Emblem.

[Slumber]

Being a massive FF fanboy when I was a wee-lad back in 2002, I jumped at the first opportunity I could to get portable FF. At the time, that was FFTA(Not counting Mystic Quest). FFTA came with a pamphlet in the back that had advertisements for all of these GBA RPGs/Action Adventure games. ALttP, Sword of Mana, and also 420 Blaze It Sword. This piqued my interest, due to me loving all of those games that kept appearing in that pamphlet, and Marth+Roy in SSB, who were complete enigmas.

I pretty much got FE7 as soon as I saw it at Target. It was pretty much love at first sight for me. I even went around the Twin Cities trying to find a GameStop/EB Games(Back when EB and GameStop were separate companies) that carried the strategy guide shortly after, which I now have a story of my dad jumping out of the truck and nearly pulling a guy out of his car for nearly hitting me in the parking lot.

Also, as I found out much later, I actually had a copy of the original FE1 when a family member picked up a Famicom at a flea market in the late 90s. But even after loving the series for 14 years, I struggle to play FE1 with an English patch, so 12 year old me, fresh young face to the FE franchise, didn't really want anything to do with the Japanese version.

[NekoKnight]

3 hours ago, Godhand said:

Lucina is the best thing to come out of Fire Emblem, so yes.

It also happens to be Hitler's birthday, though...

As a concerned mother that knows nothing about Fire Emblem, I feel it's my duty to report to the media that Fire Emblem celebrates Fascism and "Lucina" is Hitler reborn.

[Zapp Branniglenn]

Oh, story time? Okay. So Melee convinced me to keep an eye out for this franchise. it was 2006 ish when I bought FE8 at my local gamestop, then returned shortly after for their copy of 7. Loved Sacred Stones, tried but failed to finish 7. I bought Shadow Dragon on release, was not impressed at all. Didn't play any more Fire Emblem until 2011 ish when I was cleaning out that same gamestop's gamecube selection and found Path of Radiance for 25 dollars, a game I had never heard of. It instantly became my favorite, and I was back into the series. I found this site, nabbed a copy of Radiant Dawn, played through the recently finished FE6 fanslation, tried FE4 and it didn't grab me, and I checked this site every day for an announcement of Awakening getting localized. I nearly fell out my chair when we got the official announcement for Awakening - through a NoA tweet during the week of E3 2012. I bought a 3DS shortly after. Weird to think it's five years later and I'm waiting for yet another 3DS title.

Fire Emblem definitely weighed on my mind for all these years. Even when I thought it was dead after Shadow Dragon. I showed the series to some of my closest friends in that time, and when Awakening released, I was the one being showed how to play the game by others. It's foray into the mainstream is like a miracle, and I've no doubt I'll be playing everything they release in the future.

Edited April 21, 2017 by Gustavos

[Luchi]

9 hours ago, Sunwoo said:

I still can't believe I'm older than this fucking series.

Same here, though barely, xD. I'm more or less the same as Final Fantasy.

I started with Blazing Sword back in 2008 ( pretty late, I know ) on an emulator and loved it. Probably the clearest memory I have from that game was almost welling up after finishing Lyn Mode because I was thinking "It can't be over, it's too short!". Imagine my relief when I was introduced to my 2nd favourite Lord in the series, Eliwood. But like any first-time FE player, I lost a lot of units without having a clue that permadeath was a thing and they were gone for good. My most memorable maps were probably Battle Before Dawn ( thank you, F.o.W and Bolting!Ursula ) and Pale Flower of Darkness ( bloody snowy map >< ).

My memories of FE8 are pretty vague, tbqh. No real strong memories there, apart from loving that there was an actual traversible world map.

FE6: I just remember it was bloody hard and that one of tracks that I really loved from that game made it into Heroes ( forgot the name of it xD ).

FE9: I recall the bridge chapter and cracking up every time a unit fell into a hole. Or Calill killing Schaffer with a single Bolting crit on turn 3 in Chapter 22 ( aka the map with the silliest title in the series: Solo ). And when I saw Lucia in Ch. 23 and I fell in love with her. <3 And then my heart melted at her reunion with Elincia. Those were my strongest memories, I guess. But the plot is rubbish.

FE10: Part 2. Ship-teasing between my OTP. That is all. In all seriousness, Echoes of Daybreak remains one of my favourite tracks in the series and left a very strong impression on me when I first played through RD

FE4: Sigurd/Ayra/Cuan and basically the whole Gen 1. Huge maps. Amazing soundtrack. Power politics ( which always has to be influenced by some cult because it has become a mainstay for jRPGs ), holy weapons, Crusaders, Crapsack World. Everything I ever wanted from FE I found here ( apart from unit balance. That doesn't exist in any FE ). This game influenced me big time when I went on to develop my own indie jRPG.