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Which is more popular? Metroid or Fire Emblem?


Harvey
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So I have this argument over with some group and many claim that Metroid is more popular than Fire Emblem.

So I don't know what do you guys think? Is Metroid or Fire Emblem more popular than the other?

 

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I'd venture to say Fire Emblem, but only because Metroid isn't popular right now. Particularly due to the severe lack of games. I'm not sure on the sales of Federation Force, but I would venture to assume they were very low (correct me if I'm wrong).

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56 minutes ago, アリサ ラインフォルト said:

Not that it really matters anyways but you could get an answer simply by adding a poll.
 

A poll about whether we prefer Metroid or Fire Emblem would be MASSIVELY skewed, considering we're on a Fire Emblem forum.

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I haven't heared of Metroid till Super Smash Bros Brawl.
In Smash 64 I thought Samus would be male because I knew nothing about her backround despite I played lots of Nintendo franchises in the late 90s.


Also this is the wrong place for this topic Imo.
If a Death Battle, then do it right in an independent videogame forum.


 

Edited by アリサ ラインフォルト
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As of now, FE probably has more fans, and the reason is quite simple. If there are no new Metroid games, new Metroid fans won't be made.
But now that two mainline Metroid installments are announced, I finally have something to look forward to as a Metroid fan again.
Still, I think polls are fun. You should do a multi-answer poll asking who likes FE and Metroid, or hasn't played both.

Edited by Zera
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Historically it's Metroid. It's not even close. There have been Metroid games in the West since the 80s, and Super Metroid is one of the most revered games on the SNES and considered one of the best games of all time, something no FE has ever been close to being.

Fire Emblem would not be a thing in the West until SSB Melee was released, already in the early 2000s, and even then it took the unexpected success of FE13 for Fire Emblem to reach the level of popularity Metroid once enjoyed.

Of course, right now FE is more popular, but IMO a new Metroid announcement is far bigger than any FE, because Metroid is something a lot of people in the West grew with, especially older gamers who might have moved on to other platforms, unlike FE.

Edited by Cerberus87
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Well a quick google search reveals there are more Metroid games that have reached 1 million worldwide sales (7 games) compared to Fire Emblem's 2. But Fire Emblem has more releases so it kinda balances out? You gotta remember that half of Fire Emblem's history didn't escape Japan while Metroid has had international acclaim since the very first game. Plus I truly don't think an announcement of a Fire emblem game could compare to the reception of Metroid Prime 4, a game we know nothing about. However, Metroid popularity is basically nonexistent in Japan past Super Metroid. I'm curious as to why the series is glossed over there. Samus' Varia suit is kinda like a Gundam, no?

Looking at individual games and accomplishments, Super Metroid is one of the most analyzed and competitive speed games that commonly serves as a finale for the biannual Games Done Quick marathons. Metroid Prime 1 is also commonly cited as one of the best FPS titles in history and standing in as Nintendo's answer to the Halo phenomenon. I can't think of any hallmarks in Fire Emblem's history. Tactics games suffered a short ice age at the turn of the millenium, and Fire Emblem is one of the few that survived past it? That's all I can think of.

Edited by Gustavos
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9 hours ago, Cerberus87 said:

Super Metroid is one of the most revered games on the SNES and considered one of the best games of all time, something no FE has ever been close to being.

This.

I'm a way bigger FE fan than a Metroid fan, and it's not even close. With that being said, I have to tip my cap with Super Metroid, as it is legitimately one of the best games I have ever had the pleasure to play.

But really, who cares who has the biggest fanbase - I wasn't aware that everything, including funtime hobbies, had to be such a dick measuring contest.

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For the majority of Nintendo's video game history, Metroid, while not being extremely popular, was always more popular than Fire Emblem. Super Metroid is, imo, the greatest game of all time, and Samus was one of the original 12 characters in Smash 64. Metroid then went, I think, 8 years, without a title before Fusion was released which brought in a flood of games with the Prime trilogy along with Zero Mission, Other M, and a couple off-shoot DS games.

In recent years, Fire Emblem has gotten way more titles than Metroid. With Awakening, Fates and Echoes being released and Fire Emblem Warriors announced and only Metroid Federation Force released in the same time frame, Fire Emblem is bigger and more relevant right now

With the announcement of Prime 4 and the Return of Samus remake, Metroid should be able to at least stay on par with if not overtake Fire Emblem once again.

 

Keep in mind, Fire Emblem has never been as popular as it is right now, and Metroid is at it's 2nd lowest point in its history. Personally, I would like to see more Metroid games. They are historically very good games, but they just haven't gotten great sales.

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Fire emblem right now but overall? Metroid hands down. Super and prime 1 are regarded as some of the, if not THE best games of all time...fire emblem hasn't gotten nearly as much critical recognition and I don't know if it ever will. I just hope metroid, with the two new games, revives itself and sells well again.

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I'm not sure. Metroid has more prestige and a better history when it comes to adored games and sales.

But Metroid is also a series that's in a very steep decline and until very recently there wasn't anything pointing to that decline ending. I could see Metroid reclaiming its relevance but if there's another decade long break in the franchise Fire emblem may surpass it. 

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Yeah, basically what everyone else has said.

Fire Emblem doesn't really have any games that could be considered "The best game of all time", or even really "Best game of the generation". Metroid has Super Metroid and Metroid Prime, which both consistently show up on "Best of" lists, and the series has a much greater history outside of Japan than FE does. Fire Emblem, meanwhile, JUST got its footing, popularity-wise.

Right now FE's more popular, but that's because Other M was very damaging to the series, and the last main game we got. When Metroid Prime 4 and Samus Returns come out? Might be a different story.

Edited by Slumber
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Metroid for sure. People talk about metroid having a drought during the n64 era and again for most of wi-wii U (other M and federation force notwithstanding), but it isn't as though this posed as much of an accesibility problem as people make out, (n64 using same cables as snes and prime being accesible via the triology edition). Metroid also has a much more widespread inflence on game design outside of its own franchise than fire emblem, is a fairly important series in speedrun history (Super metoid has 3rd largest community of all games, Prime was used as one of the original template submissions on SDA). 

Fire Emblem's current spikee in popularity is usually blown out of proportion and does quite match metroid's enduring popularity. A revealing reference point is that the lifetime sales of fire emblem did not match the lifetime sales of the creatures (mostly important for pioneering A-life) franchise into well overva year after Fates release.  Even though Federation Force and Other M are semi-universally criticized, a lot of people took the time to try them out. 

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On 2017-6-15 at 11:04 PM, Cerberus87 said:

Historically it's Metroid. It's not even close. There have been Metroid games in the West since the 80s, and Super Metroid is one of the most revered games on the SNES and considered one of the best games of all time, something no FE has ever been close to being.

What about Blazing Blade which is considered to be some of the greatest games of all time list?

I just don't get the idea of how Metroid can be so popular considering the fact that....

  1. FE has more media than Metroid. I mean, the Cipher cards, the manga, that forgotten anime etc while Metroid has...what? A manga and a cancelled movie?
  2. Metroid has lesser games than FE.
  3. That its more or less of a mix bag of having the main games and the prime games which are just spin offs.

If Nintendo were to reveal the whole amount of FE franchise being sold, it most likely would outdo Metroid.

I don't dislike Metroid as Fusion is my favourites but comparing it to FE which not only does the opposite but that each and every entry brings new things to the table is what I really love about FE.

 

 

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41 minutes ago, Harvey said:

What about Blazing Blade which is considered to be some of the greatest games of all time list?

I just don't get the idea of how Metroid can be so popular considering the fact that....

  1. FE has more media than Metroid. I mean, the Cipher cards, the manga, that forgotten anime etc while Metroid has...what? A manga and a cancelled movie?
  2. Metroid has lesser games than FE.
  3. That its more or less of a mix bag of having the main games and the prime games which are just spin offs.

If Nintendo were to reveal the whole amount of FE franchise being sold, it most likely would outdo Metroid.

I don't dislike Metroid as Fusion is my favourites but comparing it to FE which not only does the opposite but that each and every entry brings new things to the table is what I really love about FE.

 

 

Dude, FE did not exist in the West until the Gamecube era, and it was introduced to Westerners with Smash. With Smash! Not even an FE, as FE6 on the GBA was not localized. Metroid already had three games by that point, all of which fondly remembered and among the best in the platforms they came out for, and was one of the main forces in Nintendo's lineup in the 2000s with the Metroid Prime trilogy. Even then, FE remained niche until Awakening. FE13 was the series' last gasp in an attempt to be relevant, and if it had failed, the series would've been either killed off and forgotten, or remained a Japanese-only title, considering FE12 didn't even come to the West after Shadow Dragon flopped horribly, which may have had to do with its 2010 launch date (IIRC the 3DS was already out in Japan), but still. That's why FE13 had fanservice galore, not just in sexual terms but also in terms of lore with all the DLC, Archanea setting, and recycling traditional character archetypes. FE13 was to Fire Emblem what Mortal Kombat 9 was to Mortal Kombat, which is why both are excellent games. :D

You're also bringing out Japanese-only stuff to back up your argument, but the Japanese market has become niche a long time ago. Sega in the 90s went to the point of killing off a console with strong presence in Japan because it was all but dead in the West. Most of Sony's current revenue with the PlayStation brand is from the Western market. The Vita itself was going well in Japan but was considered a huge flop because it didn't sell in the West. And Microsoft doesn't even care about the Japanese market, they go there to get devs to make games for Westerners, not to sell consoles.

Everyone disses Waifu Emblem here but they should be VERY thankful that it came out and became a hit. It made FE one of Nintendo's A-franchises, which is something very recent and also has to do with Nintendo mistreating other franchises and relegating them to supplying characters to Smash.

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In more recent years Fire Emblem has enjoyed great sales. Metroid on the other hand, not so much. I will say that Metroid tends to have a more vocal fanbase that really hypes up new games. I honestly feel more excited about the prospect of a Metroid Prime 4, than a new Fire Emblem. Something about it just feels exciting.

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On 6/17/2017 at 11:45 AM, Cerberus87 said:

Dude, FE did not exist in the West until the Gamecube era, and it was introduced to Westerners with Smash. With Smash! Not even an FE, as FE6 on the GBA was not localized. Metroid already had three games by that point, all of which fondly remembered and among the best in the platforms they came out for, and was one of the main forces in Nintendo's lineup in the 2000s with the Metroid Prime trilogy. Even then, FE remained niche until Awakening. FE13 was the series' last gasp in an attempt to be relevant, and if it had failed, the series would've been either killed off and forgotten, or remained a Japanese-only title, considering FE12 didn't even come to the West after Shadow Dragon flopped horribly, which may have had to do with its 2010 launch date (IIRC the 3DS was already out in Japan), but still. That's why FE13 had fanservice galore, not just in sexual terms but also in terms of lore with all the DLC, Archanea setting, and recycling traditional character archetypes. FE13 was to Fire Emblem what Mortal Kombat 9 was to Mortal Kombat, which is why both are excellent games. :D

You're also bringing out Japanese-only stuff to back up your argument, but the Japanese market has become niche a long time ago. Sega in the 90s went to the point of killing off a console with strong presence in Japan because it was all but dead in the West. Most of Sony's current revenue with the PlayStation brand is from the Western market. The Vita itself was going well in Japan but was considered a huge flop because it didn't sell in the West. And Microsoft doesn't even care about the Japanese market, they go there to get devs to make games for Westerners, not to sell consoles.

Everyone disses Waifu Emblem here but they should be VERY thankful that it came out and became a hit. It made FE one of Nintendo's A-franchises, which is something very recent and also has to do with Nintendo mistreating other franchises and relegating them to supplying characters to Smash.

I just want to point out that Microsoft actually cares a hilarious amount about the Asian market even though they have zero foothill there and never can get a foothold there, but they keep trying bless their hearts. Even though older console have sold horribly there tkeep shipping there they keep attempting to sell there and they're still not giving up for whatever reason.  Heck in the 360 generation they even got themselves two exclusive JRPGs just to try to sell more and it didn't do anything for them Japan just hate Microsoft for whatever reason it's kind of hilarious.  Even this generation they tried with things like scalebound (before canceling it), and Recore.  The fact that Microsoft hasn't withdraw sales of Xbox in Japan is a testament to their dedication to not completely give up even though they should buy all accounts.

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