Jump to content

[Hard] Radiant Dawn Semi-Blind


Deltre
 Share

Recommended Posts

Bleh, been pretty bad about updating this the last few days :l The videos are done, but I usually like to leave more finalized thoughts when I post these, just haven't had the time lately. 

15

Spoiler

 

16

Spoiler

 

17

Spoiler

 

I guess the first thing that stands out to me about 3-1 through 3-3 is that there's not a whole lot of development in actuality. We know what we're doing, and we're doing it, without much else getting in the way of that. I think that for someone who's played PoR, it's probably fine. I really like taking control of the GM, being that they are complete powerhouses, but I can't help but wonder how someone who didn't have the context of FE9 would feel about this part. True, the game tells you that these guys are amazing before you actually meet them and there's further development for some characters (the brothers, namely), but I think someone without the extra knowledge on these characters from the previous game might feel confused, at the very least. Honestly? It kinda feels like fanservice haha, not that I really mind. While the plot hasn't COMPLETELY stopped or anything, it's hard to deny that the main focus up until the very end of 3-2 has  been solely on the Greil Mercenaries doing what they do best. I'm still plenty interested on where things are headed, and if 3-3 is any indication then I'll bet things will pick up soon. For a non-royal, regular guy, Ranulf sure is awesome.

Moving Haar to the Greil Mercenaries threw me real bad though. Why the hell would he even be here? If anything it makes way more sense for him to go to Daein, because that's where Jill is last I knew. In fact, I'm really not sure why Brom/Neph/Heather show up here either. I feel like that could have been better explained, rather than just saying Ike called in a favor. Other than that, I think the gameplay has still been fine, though as a nitpick I will say that I wish that it was clearer that you can visit the tents in 3-3 since that was honestly the last thing I would have thought to do, given the context. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 116
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Since we are in Part 3 now, this might be a good opportunity to point out that there are actually two versions of the opening. What you've seen at the start of the run was the full version that is unlocked once you reach Part 3 for the first time. The initial version of the opening is slightly shorter because it does not feature any of the scenes involving Ike.

 

Btw Deltre, did you start your playthrough using existing game completion data? Because otherwise you can't go for any of the second playthrough stuff. It only counts if you start a new game using the save file from a finished run.

 

Edited by BrightBow
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Much of Part 3's script, extended and not, isn't on SF for some reason. But, I did notice these nuggets in the 3-1 extended script:

Spoiler

Ranulf:
“Never in its history has Gallia invaded another country. We don’t have any experience or tactics to fall back on for this. The only time we fought against another country was when Begnion sent soldiers to attack us, and tried to force us to give up our country and return to slavery– back then, we fought using guerrilla tactics in the deep forests of Gallia. That’s the only way we know to fight.”

[Later in the script...]

Ike:
“Why isn’t Caineghis leading the army?”

Ranulf:
“It’s not an option. We aren’t mobile like the bird tribes. Once we leave our lands, it isn’t easy for us to get back. We can’t take our king away from his domain. The Holy Pegasus Knights and Holy Wyvern Riders… that Begnion possess are an incredibly powerful air force. If they discovered that our King had left… they wouldn’t hesitate to smash our country.”

 

The second part sounds a little exaggerated, since fliers aren't that mobile and would still have issues going over the mountains. The dense tree cover would make their typical dive bombing difficult too. But I guess they could ferry Fire Sages over and raze Gallia to the ground, plus the Laguz lack the magic and bows to KO fliers with ease.

If the first part sounds intriguing, here is the official timeline for Tellius up to the Mad King's War. It is spoiler-free. The Tellius Recollection artbooks contain additional world building information. But the Recollections, both the PoR and RD volumes, contain massive RD spoilers, so don't glance them over before you're done with the game.

As for the Three Brothers, the Recollections say they are related, but only half-brothers via their shared father. I think it says something that about what he thinks when Rolf mentions to Tauroneo his parents in their PoR support, he says his dad is alive (when he's dead) and his mother is dead (when it turns out she's alive in RD).

 

And I see you too like 3-3. River Crossing is so good at being an epic battle- it's well planned, the movie clip oozes with drama and gives you a real sense of the scope of the war that you can't get from a standard FE gameplay battle. And the gameplay map itself has a fun objective and is fairly well designed if you ask me. It and 2-F are among my all time favorites in the whole of FE history.

By the way, those Horses have stats. Here they are:

HP 25 Str 20 (capped) Mag 0 Skl 1 Spd 10 Def 5 Res 0 Con 20 Wt 20 Mov 9. Class type is listed as ??? I think. Affiliation (name of group they fight in) is War Horse.
Edited by Interdimensional Observer
Link to comment
Share on other sites

@BrightBow That's interesting, I wonder why they chose to remove Ike from the intro cutscene? I imagine for suspense reasons, but now that you bring it up, he isn't even on the cover art. I understand wanting to build mystery and all, but talk about a bad marketing move! I can't help but wonder if the game would have done even a little bit better if they had slapped Ike on the front of the game somewhere.

And yes, this is on a cleared data file. Seven times, to be exact, though I'm not sure if that changes anything.

@Interdimensional Observer Much like with the extended Elincia/Ludveck scene, I still think that most of the meaning comes across with what we ended up getting in game. Still, I can't help but wonder what the point was in trimming down the script the way that they did. From the few extended bits that have been posted, it doesn't seem like plot points are missing or anything, just that we're losing some of the flavor. It's a little disappointing, because although a new player can easily understand the main points of what is happening, it doesn't paint as strong of a picture this way. Thank you for going through the script and other resources like that, it's always interesting to see what changed/what was left out.

Also, why can the horses almost 1v1 Mist? 

Now we're really getting somewhere! The story kind of stalled a bit in my opinion up until 3-3, but now it's starting to heat back up real quick. To almost no one's surprise, I'm sure, Skrimir got too overconfident and it bites him and everyone else right where it hurts. I did always want to see Zelgius as a more active, powerful commander after playing PoR, but not like this haha. Be careful what you wish for, I guess.

The map itself I have mixed feelings about, mostly because of one thing, and one thing alone. On the positive side, the map objective is neat, and the layout of the map gives the enemy the advantage which are both aspects I like. On the other hand:

Spoiler

230?cb=20170405053654

That guy, right there invalidates the entire map. If you're using Haar even kind of competently, there may as well not even be a map here at all. On the flipside, if you aren't using Haar, this map becomes significantly more problematic. Now in fairness, I got a little lucky in that my Haar was the one who killed the Nullify Scroll guy way back in 2-E, so he's maybe a little more immortal than a new player might usually expect. Even still, with Thunder magic being so bad, and there only being maybe 1 Thunder Sage that Haar would ever need to fight on this map to begin with, I feel like this map doesn't quite work. It's hard to put into words exactly what's wrong, but essentially I feel that if you aren't a frontline unit on this map that can kind of keep up with the Winged God, you may as well not be there. On top of that, the tight passages you navigate kind of dictate that only the frontliners will be fighting anyways, so even if you removed Haar from the equation, I still feel like there's not enough for everyone to do.

It's definitely not a dealbreaker for me or anything, but if I had to rate this stage right now, it would probably end up on the lower end of things. I was thinking about it after playing 3-3 as well, but I can't help but wonder what the game would be like if Haar and Marcia switched places. Nevermind the narrative for a second, but from a gameplay standpoint I can't help but think that it would be better, given that I can actually pick out her weaknesses, which are not only more common, but much more threatening as well. 

Speaking of gameplay, Haar is so broken that I've decided to bring Lyre along to balance things out. Wish me luck!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Now that you can finally use Laguz, you will always be able to find some Olivia Grass among Aimee's special offers. Make sure you always have enough in stock.

Lyre is so absurdly weak, yet the game thinks she is still overleveled. It's baffling that Lyre actually has a higher level then Mordecai, who starts out with no less then 32 defense. The game's weird balance is truly the most noticeable when it comes to the Laguz.

But Lyre has an even bigger problem then her weak bases. It's the fact that Ranulf not only outperforms her but you are actually forced to deploy Ranulf for quite a few maps. And having to handle more then one cat at the same time is a massive pain.

As you saw, cats chew through their transformation gauge like no one's business. They loose 4 points for every battle + 5 additional points each turn. As a result they struggle to have any kind of player phase because they are in constant need to chew Olivia Grass. And if they untransform on enemy phase they are as good as dead.

Sure, their gauge recovers faster too but practically speaking that doesn't actually help them all that much. If a cat eats some grass on turn 1 they will only have 25 points at the beginning of turn 2. Which means they still can't actually transform until turn 3, just like any other type of Laguz.

Edited by BrightBow
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3-4 is a little sad since the tide turns, but to be fair, would you want the Laguz Alliance to just own Begnion at every turn? It'd make Begnion out to be incompetent and things would be boring.

This said, the map is good, if not for Haar as you pointed out. He is slightly less broken in Japan since Master Crowns are absolutely needed for going 3rd tier in that version, EXP alone can't get you to it. Master Crowns being rather limited, giving Haar one would be favoritism, but he'd so deserve it since he breaks the game harder with it than anyone else. So really, he wouldn't be any less broken unless you purposely gimped him for someone else, Shinon and Titania would be a little less good once they cap level, since Rolf and Oscar would have a chance to catch up.

Also, Laguz have their internal level (not the one you see on the status screen) increased when shifted. It means they less when shifted than untransformed. Have Ranulf kill someone with a kick on counterattack, and it'd be more than what he'd get when clawing them to death. It's unfair to Laguz I think, but those with solid bases can handle it, and stat boosters are effectively twice as effective on things other then HP and Luck due to transformation doubling stats.

Using Lyre and Fiona? I like your style. Changes things up a bit from the usual.

 

Just as preemption given you play ahead of your most recently posted video. This is rather important:

 On 3-7, read this only when you on are on the Preparations screen for 3-7 or after starting the battle. It'll ruin the surprise if you read it sooner.

Spoiler

Remember that little big spoilery thing you could get from fielding the BK back on 1-F? Well now is time to fulfill the one and only other condition for that something:

Have Ike have a battle conversation with the Black Knight. 

You don't need to kill the BK (I'd advise not trying that, I don't know for sure whether that'd invalidate the obtaining of the little thing, probably not). Nor do you need to even hurt the BK, just trigger a battle conversation.

If Ike has less than 27 Spd, he'll be doubled by the BK and doubled and thus killed. To cheat this, have him use one of those magic cards- the enemy can't retaliate when you do, even if they could normally counterattack. You'll get the needed dialogue, and Ike will live. Have Haar swoop in and rescue Ike to avoid a KO on the enemy phase.

If Ike has 27 Spd or more, he can safely survive the BK from 2 range, since Eclipse can only activate at 1 range. So just place Ike at the very edge of the BK's range, and let him move and attack Ike on the enemy phase.

The reward will not come until later however, so be patient.

 

Also, if you wanted to, you could have Zihark and Jill defect from Daein and join the Greil Mercenaries. Just have Lethe or Mordecai talk with Zihark, and if Ilyana or Brom has Zihark listed under "Bonds" they can chat him over too. Jill can be convinced with Haar, or Mist if they have a Bond.

But for the love of sanity, don't do it!:sob: The Laguz Alliance and the Greil Mercenaries have enough powerhouses already! You will return to Micaiah's group again, and lacking two of the few strong units the DB has will severely bite you. It is still possible to beat the game even if both defect, but I'd then recommend doing what I did in a draft, funneling all your resources into one star unit (Edward in your case). Why? It'd make a battle I won't describe much easier. 

 

The time limit on the BoydxMist Support (the reward is nothing that amazing), is, if you really want to know:

Spoiler

They need the A by the start of 3-11. The reward comes in 3-F.

Supports in FE10 use a system that blends the GBA and PoR styles. Being fielded in the same chapter gives Support Points. Having two units end their turns next to each other, shoving, being carried around via rescue, and healing all give Support Points too. IkexSoren and BoydxMist gain 16 points per chapter together, 2 per Shove, 4 per turn adjacent, 6 for being carried around, and 5 for healing. It takes 50 points to rank up. Points for the level beyond the next cannot be acquired.

Keep fielding Boyd and Mist and they should get the A, put them near each other and heal Boyd with Mist to make it happen faster. Ike and Soren should have zero problems getting it as long as Soren gets fielded all the time. There is a chapter in the future before the deadline where heal spamming is pretty easy (you'll be able to identify it once you start playing it). Said map has a fairly easy BEXP turncount limit, so Mist and Boyd could possibly get a rank up just from that battle alone. If they end each turns adjacent and Boyd is healed on each by Mist, you'll get 9 points a turn, plus the 16 for just being on the map means it'd take 4 turns of heals and being adjacent to get the rank up. Of course, you could do this on any map provided you didn't mind gluing Boyd to Mist for a few turns and have a way to get him hurt.

Edited by Interdimensional Observer
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's Yamcha vs Vegito and it's your job to guide the Wolf Fang Fist to victory against the fused foe. Let's go!

Anyway, all those new weapons you got also give you a stat boost.

+8 Luck for Edward

+5 Speed for Leonardo

+4 Defense for Nolan

Not only is the Dawn Brigade terrible outmatched here, they also have to worry about some of their members being recruited into the Laguz Alliance. So do not have Zihark talk to Lethe or Mordecai. If Zihark had an A support with Ilyana or Brom back in PoR, they can also recruit him. Yes, the game hates the Dawn Brigade so much that even the Data Transfer can possibly bite them in the rear.

As for Jill, she can get recruited by Haar. She can also get recruited by Mist if they had an A support back in PoR.

On the bright side, you don't have to hold back in these fights. Defeating playable characters will not kill them.

There are also characters who refuse to attack certain characters no matter what. For example Jill and Mist are unable to attack each other and Zihark won't ever attack Lethe, Mordecai or Ranulf.

Edited by BrightBow
Link to comment
Share on other sites

@Interdimensional Observer  Thanks for the info on supports. I think that as far as building supports, this might be the best system there is across all the FE titles honestly. Now, the content is a different story, but still. Safe to say that I'll be able to get both those supports with time to spare.

Laguz really got the short end of the stick IMO. Can't act on turn one, and they're pretty much targets when untransformed. Of course, lacking a good way to counter isn't as bad as it could be since they still have high move, can shove almost anyone (beast Laguz anyways), and are pretty easy to keep away of enemy attacks. Keeping them transformed isn't that hard either. What really hurts them the most is that internal level boost when they shift. I assume it's like +20ish, so they'd basically count as promoted right? That's a huge ripoff considering the fact that they have to spend a player turn every few turns just to stay topped off on their gauge. Cats have it especially bad, and I want to use two haha.

I'll keep that 3-7 note for later, thanks. Just finished 3-6, so I'll be using that soon.

@BrightBowI completely missed the boosts on those personals, and I still missed the one for the Caladbolg after doing 3-6 haha. Thanks. 

It's not all bad for the Dawn Brigade. At least they have Jill! Oh man, do they have Jill

Spoiler

jill.thumb.jpg.efb2f8b319e654b3797299d61c0bf753.jpg

3-6 was a good time.

Anyways, here's 3-5, another Defense chapter. I think this one is pretty good too, although I wish there were more stealables available for Heather. I suppose there's a good chance to get a Meteor tome here, which is definitely interesting, and the option to snipe the boss is great for people who want to get on with it. I can't complain about this map, it's pretty darn good! If only there were just a little more incentive to stick around for a while. If you don't care about the Meteor (or can't get it), then all you'd get for waiting things out is a little more EXP, which let's be honest, the Greil Mercenaries hardly need. 

Also, Mist went off on this map. I have no idea what happened.

While the idea of the Laguz Alliance being pushed back is an interesting one, there's no doubt that the meat of the story this time are all the bombshells dropped after the battle is over. Sanaki went AWOL. Sephiran gets stripped of all his power. Right when things are heating up...we get dropped back into the Dawn Brigade. Crap.

Their side of things are pretty interesting too though. I'm immediately curious about the sudden change of heart we seem to have had in relation to Begnion. I never would have predicted that we'd be fighting for their cause, as allies. Even the characters themselves aren't entirely sure of this decision, so I'm sure that the truth will reveal itself sooner or later. Also, I really liked Nolan's conversation where he's presented with the Tarvos. You can really see those leader-like qualities in him, as he's the only one to see through Micaiah and her doubts besides Sothe. I thought that was neat. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If only you could get some ordinary torches for this map. Micaiah and Laura aren't exactly the best scouts.

Fun fact: If Lethe already died at this point in the game, the boss of this map will be a male cat with black fur named Kezhda.

Although it seems like Lethe and Mordecai never even came into view. I know the two of them take a while to come down to you but considering how far you send Jill out, it's a little surprising you didn't encounter them. I suppose the map simply ends too quickly on Maniac Mode due to the increased enemy count. Either way, it's quite a shame considering Jill and Lethe have a nice boss conversation as well as a talk conversation here, which do a good job showing how their relationship has progressed since PoR.

Edit: And btw, Halfshift does not reduce EXP gain. That's just an translation error.

Edited by BrightBow
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, it is a shame they don't give you any regular torches for 3-6. Lord only knows, I had plenty of units who would have had nothing better to do than to use them haha. 

So Lethe was on this map! I had my suspicions after seeing 3-7, but it's nice to have that confirmed. Fighting your own characters is a very interesting twist for sure. It sure would be a shame to powerlevel a unit, only to have to face them down on the next map later down the road. I love when games do that though, it really makes the fighting feel more personal, which I'm all for. I may have to get that Lethe conversation, just to see it for myself, it sounds pretty intriguing. 

So we're back with the Dawn Brigade again, and boy does it show. I got put down about 7 times this map, before piecing together a winning run (and only just!). I greatly appreciate the increase in difficulty, since the Greil Mercenaries can just faceroll whatever is in their way 99% of the time. With how weak the Dawn Brigade is relative to the enemies you face here, 3-6 almost feels like more a defense map than some of the actual defense maps we've had up until now, funnily enough. Really fun map, but really challenging on your first time as well.

I kind of glossed over the BK showing up, but having done the next map as well I have some questions about him for sure. Apparently, his armor isn't blessed anymore, so in theory does that mean he could die on 3-6? Would anything special happen if he did? 

Either way, I think the DB might be set for a while now. Jill has ascended, and if Fiona ever gets played on a map where her being mounted actually matters then she'll take off too I think. Poor Edward is really feeling that 20 SPD though :l it may be time for some BEXP. I have high hopes for these guys though, hopefully it works out!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, Deltre said:

I kind of glossed over the BK showing up, but having done the next map as well I have some questions about him for sure. Apparently, his armor isn't blessed anymore, so in theory does that mean he could die on 3-6? Would anything special happen if he did? 

I'm sure that unlike in Part 1 it's legitimately possible to get the Black Knight killed here. If you focus entirely on making Lethe as strong as possible and teach her her Mastery Skill which triples her strength by 5 when it triggers, she should be able to tear him apart. Edit: Nevermind, I forgot about Nihil, so her Mastery wouldn't work. Still, with capped strength, Speed and SS strike she would still be able to hit him for 2x17 damage. Imbue heals about half of that, so it would take a while, but in theory she should be able to take him down.

Either way, if the Black Knight dies in Part 1 you get a Game Over (along with a death quote that subtly lampshades how absurd this outcome is). So I would assume the same is true for this map.

Edited by BrightBow
Link to comment
Share on other sites

By the goddess I've never once attempted 3-6 like that! All I do is hold at the chokepoint to the north, and the one to the east. I always assume if anyone went beyond the chokes, it was tantamount to suicide. Yet somehow your Jill survived and your units were able to move around a bit without suddenly being devoured by everything (though you came close a couple times). Gutsy with your strategies.

 

And Corrosion is a little better in this game. As a Tier 2 unit counts as 20 + their current level, and a Tier 3 40 + their current level. Most weapons have no more than 40 uses, so a Corrosion activation on a Tier 3 unit can leave an enemy weaponless. A Tier 2 unit can break Silvers (30 uses) and 1-2 physicals (25) too.

Those three personal weapons for Edward, Leonardo and Nolan didn't exist in the original Japanese version of RD, they got added in the international release. Another change I'm surprised by is that those movies that show you what's coming up in the next Part were added. Things don't seem right without the transition they provide from one part to the next. 

They also made foraging easier, in the Japanese version, you need 50 forge points to one forge of any kind. How do you get them? You sell weapons! E = 1, D = 5, C = 10, B = 25, A = 50, S = 100. Back when Aimee was saying you couldn't sell weapons when you had the Silver Card, she meant you couldn't sell them for the removed forge points, since you farm them infinitely by buying and selling back weapons. The number of uses a weapon has left when you sell it doesn't matter, a 3 use Hand Axe gives the same number of points as a full 25 use one. The idea is you sell scraps to Jorge, who passes them to his brother Daniel, who uses them as the base materials for the new weapons you order.

 

Here is a picture of Kezhda, Lethe's replacement if she's dead:

Spoiler

KEZHDA-000E

Not bad for a generic boss Laguz.

 

Your Jill is amazing! She is considered the best investment unit in all of RD for a reason. Her start is shaky with low HP and problematic Str, she's almost a Peg Knight on a dragon, but if her Str keeps up and so does the rest, she is very useful. In a sense she's better than Haar since the GMs have plenty of power even without him, the DB on the other hand would be hurting without Jill.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mages get staffs at third tier.

This thing with the EXP gain of the Laguz is so strange. Nevermind how weak Lyre is, a lv 20 Laguz is apparently overleveled, yet the game just gave you no less then two lv28 Laguz. I wonder if the game treats them as such high level units in order to help the Dawn Brigade to catch up.

Btw, did you notice that the battle model of the Daein Dragon Knights are surprisingly... reddish? Like the one Soren fights at 32:25? I wonder if they either didn't have a model for Daein Dragonknights or used the Begnion Dragonknights on accident.

 

Edit: You seem to be already aware of this but just in case I would like to clarify that Rajaion died at the end of PoR.

Mastery skills have a lower activation rate then they did in PoR. The % is now only half of the dependent attribute. And as this phrasing suggests, some of the Masteries do not depend on the Skill stat but instead rely on a different attribute.

Herons can actually learn some more spells. But they require such a high level that it's completely unreasonable for them to ever actually reach it. At Lv 30 they learn a chant that raises the Laguz' transformation gauge to the maximum and at Lv 40 they learn a chant that completely heals and cures allies. Also, I'm not sure you noticed but they also have an offensive version of Bliss that lowers the enemy's Biorhythm.

Edited by BrightBow
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/31/2017 at 3:38 PM, BrightBow said:

It's Yamcha vs Vegito and it's your job to guide the Wolf Fang Fist to victory against the fused foe. Let's go!

Dammit, you mentioning fusion characters in DBZ reminded me of the one episode where Goten and Trunks actually fuse (which I wound up watching recently)... with the first two fusions having less-than-desirable results. XD

On 11/1/2017 at 4:11 AM, Deltre said:

Laguz really got the short end of the stick IMO. Can't act on turn one, and they're pretty much targets when untransformed. Of course, lacking a good way to counter isn't as bad as it could be since they still have high move, can shove almost anyone (beast Laguz anyways), and are pretty easy to keep away of enemy attacks. Keeping them transformed isn't that hard either. What really hurts them the most is that internal level boost when they shift. I assume it's like +20ish, so they'd basically count as promoted right? That's a huge ripoff considering the fact that they have to spend a player turn every few turns just to stay topped off on their gauge. 

I agree on laguz - for all the crap mages tend to get in RD, I'd say laguz are even worse off, especially since most non-royal laguz aren't even that great for all the disadvantages you have to put up with when using them. It doesn't help that the internal level boost doubles their level IIRC (this means that, in layman's terms, a level 21 or higher laguz levels like a third tier unit), and that as stated before, they die really blooming easily untransformed. The result? A massive catch-22 situation.

Edited by Levant Mir Celestia
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oops, I blanked on updating this. Again. I'm still reading all the comments and responding to most of the points in the video (as you guys probably noticed), so don't feel like I'm not seeing these. I've been working on a few things lately and they kind of got the better of me here. If anyone REALLY wants to see these as soon as they go up, they're always available on my channel haha.

21 (3-7)

Spoiler

 

So 3-7: pretty good IMO. The only thing that strikes me as kind of strange in hindsight, is the fact that you never actually have to move off that starting island, do you? Obviously you would, for the EXP and the little story bonuses you can unlock by doing so, but honestly if you wanted to you could probably just turtle up for 12 turns and call it a day. 

I really like the angle of fighting your own units though. It's quite fun; almost like what they were trying to do with Fates, only you don't have to spend more money to play as the opposing characters. I think it works better here because of it, since you're guaranteed to have spent at least some time with these guys. This makes it all the more meaningful when you suddenly have to fight and take out that juggernaut that you created with your own two hands. 

22 (3-8)

Spoiler

 

I didn't find 3-8 to be too bad either. I prefer other maps over it, but as far as a Volcano Rout maps go, this one could honestly be so much worse. I was very skeptical towards the end of the map, because I feel that reinforcements on Rout Maps can be a very obnoxious thing when handled poorly, but it never really got to that point with this one. Reinforcements that did spawn were typically right in the area you're likely to be if you're keeping a solid pace, and they don't make you hunt too hard for those last few kills. I think some of my skepticism was due to what I was anticipating, rather than what actually happened. In fact, in hindsight I actually think this map is pretty good.

I also really like the fact that the stage hazard goes off before your first turn. Regardless of how you feel about the map, that one decision is absolutely WONDERFUL from a game design standpoint. Because of this one thing, in addition to the clearly marked zones where the rocks will strike, there are no surprises and you're never put in a position to be sucker punched at an inopportune moment.  Any time you get hit by the meteors, it's your own fault. They even have some strategic application, given that it's a rout map. It's pretty fun to have the map rain death down on the opposing side.

The only downside is that there was no full-scale character art rip of Nasir or Ena this map didn't really need to be here at all. Ranulf all but says as much before the fight even starts. I will say that I like the twist of Ike's group ending up in Goldoa rather than Gallia, since I really like Nasir/Ena as characters. I even like how committed Dheginsia was to being totally neutral, even if it did almost screw us if not for some outside intervention. That neutrality is definitely not good for our side of the fight, but it makes for more interesting interactions this way I feel.

23 (3-9)

Spoiler

 

So Begnion are still a bunch of jerks, that much we know. I like the concept of this map, however I feel that it's pretty easy to trivialize it entirely since by Turn 2 you can kill every soldier as well as extinguish any houses they set on fire. In fact, the whole map could have stood to be a bit bigger I feel. This would have added to the feeling of 'frantic rush to kill the soldiers' rather than having them all practically start right inside your range. All in all though this map is pretty inoffensive though and fun for what it is, if a little short.

Glad to see that Elincia got her groove back since the start of Part 2. It's fun to see her grow more and more capable as the game continues, and any opportunity to put Begnion in it's place is a good time in my eyes. I like seeing Zelgius here too, I imagine all the incompetency he's surrounded by must be slowly driving him insane. Lord knows it would drive me crazy.

@Interdimensional ObserverProbably not the best way to do 3-6 haha, at least if you're like me and don't know exactly what to expect. I think the way I did it could work though, the trick is that the enemies are slowed by the River as much as/more than you are, so it's not actually as dangerous as it looks. The only time it really got sketch was when I didn't scout properly with Torch. There's also the fact that I thought it was a Rout map until like the last turn, but if you know what you're doing that won't happen lol.

 I actually sold the Corrosion Scroll, but I do like that they bothered to buff it up in this game. In a sense, it's almost better than Disarm, at least the way you're describing it. 

Wow, so the Dawn Brigade was even worse in the JP version? That's a bit hard to swallow haha, poor guys. I'm glad they decided to buff them up a bit for this version, because besides Jill they really benefit from having something to help them stand out. Leo got an especially good weapon, I can't imagine ever wanting to use him without it honestly. As for the intermissions I'm really glad they added those. It feels like a TV show almost, or a movie preview. It's kind of strange, yet awesome at the same time.

That forging system sounds like a giant pain tbh. Probably a little more balanced, but given how this game is a lot stricter with funds than PoR, I think that a monetary system is totally fine here. Do you have to pay money on top of the accumulated forge points? If not, then it's actually more cost effective in the JP version once you can buy higher level items.

@BrightBow I'm gonna have to track down that BK death convo next time we see him, unless it's spoilery. I like when games put in little easter eggs, especially for situations that will almost never happen (like getting the BK killed).

That might be a good point with the Laguz. If that's the case though, they inadvertently screwed most recruitable Laguz pretty badly, at least once their bases start falling off. God help you if you don't have great bases to begin with.

I thought the Dragons in PoR were red too, except in special cases like Shiharam/Haar? Maybe I'm remembering wrong.

Okay, so they did at least nerf Mastery Skills somewhat with activation rate and 1 Range lock. On the other hand, Sol now triples damage lol. If anything, I think they should nerf the damage to say, a 50% boost and give them their old activation rate (except for maybe Sol). They're fun to see, don't get me wrong, but useful isn't exactly the word I'd use (except Sol, which is somehow more broken).

I have no idea what they were thinking with the Heron skills. Vigor is so clearly the best, 100% of the time. Even from a reliability standpoint, you're better off giving someone a second turn. Two turns is so much better than a 5% Hit/Avo boost, literally always. Don't even get me started on trying to lower the enemies Biorythym haha. It's a cool idea to give them more abilities, but the execution is way off. I think a better way to do it would have been to just make Bliss an Aura. Think Charisma from FE4/5. At least then you might end up thinking about it from time to time. Or shoot, just do what they did with Azura, where once you hit a high enough level it just applies the boost on top of being refreshed. 

@Levant Mir CelestiaWeird, I just rewatched the Buu Saga about a month ago. I hope they bring back Gotenks in the next arc of Super. I always did like the fusion characters.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll agree Incandescent Glow is rather filler-ish. I don't mind the stuff that happens before and after the fight, but the fight itself is eh. I think your sentiments on 3-9 are true as well, the idea wasn't bad, just the map is short and small. They could run with it again in another game.

 

By the way, since you know the BK's identity (spoiler tags for no reason other than someone else who might be reading this):

Spoiler

I found your calling Zelgius a Camus interesting. Since Camus's title is "Camus the Sable", which in the Japanese is "Camus the Black Knight". So yes, Zelgius is a Camus. Albeit the reason Tellius probably has a Black Knight is because Jugdral had one in the form of Ares, and Jugdral is the source of inspiration for Tellius. Even more, Eldigan, father of Ares, is loyal to a fault, like Zelgius. So really Zelgius as the BK is so appropriate.

I mean on the inspired by Jugdral thing, Tibarn and Naesala are Quan and Travant remade when you think about it- one honorable, the other underhanded. Once the Hawks and Ravens were one, and then they split, like Thracia. Needless to say Mist = Ethlyn, Elincia's staff use is totally FE4 Falcoknight (and she has green hair- the only color Jugdralian Peg Knights come in), the return of the Anima split, Micaiah's hair color is the same as Deirdre, Julia, and Sara's. Ilyana looks like Tailtiu and uses Thunder, Tormod is a red head like Azelle and use Fire. Soren being the third "true" Merric (Merric and Asbel being the others).

And just in case you never heard, in the Japanese version of the Ike-BK conversation, the BK has a different reason why he survived/Ike won. Rather than let Ike win and hold back, the BK apparently had a "Warp Powder malfunction" his soul and armor were warped into Nados Castle where the duel was fought, but not his body. This was changed in the English release, because it sounds a bit farfetched. Reading the bits of extended script here on SF that are available (which is far from all of it sadly) there are other lines that the English version modified, sometimes for the better, others not so much, some lines got dropped, but a few small ones were added too. I'll comment on these when they come, which won't be a long while.

 

By the way, that line Lyre said "the general's love is mine!" is interesting, since Kyza got tweaked in the English translation. The "tweak" wasn't made in some of his generic support lines though:

Type 15: Why it’s Princess ___. Fabulous outfit, I daresay. I hope you are holding up well.

Type 18: Oh…Captain ___…hello! If only we could secret away and…catch our breath! I trust all is well.

Type 1: Good to see you! I hope you’re feeling as fabulous as I am.

Type 18: Must survive and complete my mission. Must not let anyone else die. Captain ___, especially you. Hold on, tight, dear sir!

Type 1: If that’s what you want, then that’s what you’ll get. I’ll do whatever you say…and then some!

In case you can't tell, there is a certain... flamboyance? To put in succinctly, in the Japanese version, Kyza is a stereotypical gay guy. Odd they turned him into a studious uptight soldier in the English version while leaving Heather perfectly the same. Devdan I heard speaks like a coy woman in the Japanese too, IDK whether he's trans or gay.

Kyza and Lyre are mentioned in Ranulf and Lethe's PoR support by the way, in case you never noticed. (Taken from their B Support):

Lethe: Relaxing on the battlefield will get you killed. So…is Lyre in your unit now?
Ranulf: Yes, she is. She and her friend Kysha are giving me quite a hard time.
Lethe: Kysha [The European English version of RD uses Kysha, NA got it "wrong"] is big and strong. You’ll have your hands full if they decide to give you trouble. Regardless, I’d still like you to show them the ropes.
Ranulf: So you haven’t seen Lyre in a long time?
Lethe: …
Ranulf: I see you’d rather not discuss it. Fine. But you should still try to settle your differences. She’s your only sister.
Lethe: Mind your business.

 

One last thing, the Tellius Recollection gives us an average lifespan on how long all the Laguz species live, barring the Wolves:

Beorc have an average lifespan of 60

Lion: 180 (so 3x the average Beorc's) Tiger: 192 Cat: 204

Hawk: 207 Raven: 210 Heron: 300

Red Dragon: 1002 Black Dragon: 1020 White Dragon: 1050

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I hope you still have a charge of the Meteor tome left. You are going to need it if you are going for the event that required you to have Soren attack Micaiah back in 3-7. If you still have it, don't end the next map with Soren having it in his inventory.

Mist cannot actually use a Master Crown. I mentioned this in an earlier post, for some reason Mist gets an unique promotion item. ...which unfortunately you will get way too late... and on a map where she is probably better of staying dismounted due to it being an indoor map with lots of ledges. If you want to see her promoted earlier, you have to get her all the way to level 21.

As nonsensical the AI behavior is from an in-universe perspective, I suppose it makes a certain amount of sense from a map design perspective. You may have noticed that the only Archers on this map are those around the boss. Once they start moving, they can easily kill Elincia with their effective damage. Considering the existence of this blatant path on the lower edge of the screen, I'm pretty sure that the intent is to use that lower path to get behind the enemy lines and take out the archers before they can make contact with the Crimean army. And yeah, the boss and the other archers will eventually move after a certain amount of turns.

 

Anyway, next we will revisit the best map from PoR. It's pitfall time yet again.

But as I alluded to back in PoR, this version of the map is far more bearable due to the placement of the pitfalls being far more logical, so it's far easier to predict where they are. And the area near the boss contains no pitfalls at all. The last pitfall on the map is three tiles away from the first ballista. (btw, said pitfall is one of the two pitfalls that have no real logic behind their placement. So watch out.)

You also get a few new fliers that you are forced to deploy. I guess IS was well aware that you could cross pitfall tiles if they are occupied by a flier. Not saying that the map is actually good, just that it shouldn't be too much of a pain.

 

 

Edited by BrightBow
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, BrightBow said:

I hope you still have a charge of the Meteor tome left. You are going to need it if you are going for the event that required you to have Soren attack Micaiah back in 3-7. If you still have it, don't end the next map with Soren having it in his inventory.

Actually, I don't think you need to attack Micaiah or do the other thing you're alluding to for that scene. That is outdated information I believe. All you need, I think, is the A Ike and to pick the bottom option during the spoilers pre-battle decision of 3-13. That will get you the little spoilers thing you're referring to.

 

Also Deltre, the "Mastery skills can't trigger at range" thing applies to Swords, Lances, Axes, and Daggers, Bows can activate from afar and Magic from either range.

Edited by Interdimensional Observer
Link to comment
Share on other sites

30 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Actually, I don't think you need to attack Micaiah or do the other thing you're alluding to for that scene. That is outdated information I believe. All you need, I think, is the A Ike and to pick the bottom option during the spoilers pre-battle decision of 3-13. That will get you the little spoilers thing you're referring to.

Well, this is what the site says:

Spoiler

Soren Epilogue Scene

  • Make Soren fight Micaiah in Part 3 Chapter 7.
  • Choose not to kill Pelleas in Part 3 Chapter 13.
  • Make Soren fight Pelleas in Part 3 Final Chapter.
  • Soren and Pelleas both survive until the end of the game.
  • During the Epilogue, an extra scene will appear where Almedha briefly speaks with Soren.

An A support with Ike has nothing to do with that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, BrightBow said:

Well, this is what the site says:

Yeah the A support is probably optional too. But I don't believe I ever did the Micaiah battle in 3-7 or the other fight and still got the scene we're discussing. That info has been up on SF since the game's release, I question how accurate it is now. People believe it to be true largely because they've just been following directions to get it, not truly checking to see if it is needed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've taken a look at Pegasusknight and apparently the above topic is source of confusion there as well. Ppl in the comment sections there have different takes on what exactly is necessary, though the info is pretty outdated there as well (the discussion dates back to 2008). I don't think I've actually ever seen a definite take on this actually, though SF definitely seems to list sufficient conditions; it's just unclear whether how many of those are actually necessary.

 

(Spoilers) Link to said page in pegasusknight 

http://www2.pegasusknight.com/wiki/fe/index.php?ファイアーエムブレム 暁の女神%2Fクリア後のお楽しみ

Edited by Aggro Incarnate
Link to comment
Share on other sites

@Interdimensional Observer Interesting stuff yet again! With the Black Knight

Spoiler

I really only called Zelgius a Camus more to poke fun at the archetype than anything, though given we do play the BK himself I guess it's technically not correct. It's pretty clear that this BK is no impostor by now, so I'm curious to see more of the context for all of this, of which I have basically none.

I do really like the most prominent archetypes in FE though, and I like to see what they do with them throughout the different games. The parallels to FE4/5 are pretty interesting, and were things that I never considered, besides the gameplay stuff like Elincia with staves, etc.

What an odd thing to change with Kyza. Given his support dialogue I think you could still probably gather that he's gay, but it must have been pretty over the top, given Heather. For the localization team to change the rest of his dialogue, I can only imagine what he must have been like originally. 

I don't even know what to think about Danved. I never would have expected that at all! It's quite shocking to me that they would include such a character in the early 2000s...but something tells me it probably wasn't handled well. If I were a betting man, I'd say the localization team may have felt that whatever was there was in poor taste. Of course, I don't know Japanese so I can't say for sure.

Man, dragons really do live forever haha. It's interesting that the Lion Laguz have the shortest life span of all the beasts, given that they're typically the ones who rule Gallia. I guess being a leader really takes its toll on you.

@BrightBow I don't have anymore Meteor, sadly. Calil used every single one on that one map :l

Yeah, I remember you saying that actually, but I totally forgot at the time I was recording that. I'm glad that she gets her own thing, because I honestly don't know if she'd promote if she had to compete for a crown. The JP version must have been really rough, since these things are pretty hard to come by as is.

That actually makes a lot of sense from a gameplay standpoint. It was still very strange however to have killed the boss only for his minions to stand there and take a huge beating without bothering to defend themselves. Still, it's probably for the best that they don't aggro. If you lost too many units, Reyson especially, you could essentially softlock the game, or at least need a lot of luck to beat the map.

Let's just say luck was not on my side for 3-11.

-----

Anyways, with this event that you guys are talking about, do I need the Meteor to do it, or is it just significantly harder without it? I didn't find getting Micaiah/Soren to be too bad honestly, so if it's not mandatory I'll just go on. Either way, I'd like to show the event if I can.

(3-10)

Do you guys remember Clash! from Path of Radiance? I get some really similar vibes here, what with the open map, Elincia, and the fair amount of enemies present. Of course, my opinion of Clash! is slightly skewed since my last experience of it was on Maniac Mode, but I feel like 3-10 is just a better version of that, honestly. Granted, this is overall an easier map because of the CRK's "Supporting" you (God damn it Calil), but it doesn't compromise that military skirmish sort of feel that gave Clash! a lot of its potential in my eyes. There's also that initial scramble to save Elincia since she starts in a very compromising position. I feel like bar losing my Meteor tome, the AI played along pretty nicely though, so I can't say if I'm lucky or what really. Despite rout maps generally (depending on the game) being my least favorite type of map, this map was pretty good I think, besides a few confusing AI quirks.

Storywise, Elincia continues to impress me more and more. She's essentially 180'd from the time we first saw her where she was full of self doubt and lacking in confidence, and I quite like that bit of development she got. Not to say that laying down her arms like that wasn't foolish; it certainly was if she honestly thought Valtome would hear her words, but I think it's okay for her to still make some mistakes here and there. The fact is, she is still pretty new, despite having some new found confidence, so I can look past a little bit of naivety in this case. Besides, even if it was a little crazy to think that Begnion would back down, you have to admit that disarming herself in the middle of a battlefield was a gutsy move.

Then there's Sanaki's grand entrance, Zelgius's general badassery...man there was actually quite a bit I liked about this one, thinking on it. This game has had a very political feel to it which I'm kind of a sucker for if I'm being honest. I feel like there's a lot of potential when it comes to those kinds of plots, and so far I'm invested enough to want to learn more about the latest plot against Sanaki. Not to mention all the questions I have on the Daein side of things...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Deltre said:

Anyways, with this event that you guys are talking about, do I need the Meteor to do it, or is it just significantly harder without it? I didn't find getting Micaiah/Soren to be too bad honestly, so if it's not mandatory I'll just go on. Either way, I'd like to show the event if I can.

It's "just" significantly harder. It's another case of triggering a battle conversation with a certain character.

But I wouldn't really recommend going for the 2nd playthrough stuff on a first run anyway. Especially in this case I find it rather hard to give directions without spoiling anything. It's just you already started going for this event in 3-7 by having Soren attack Micaiah, so I figured I should tell you about the next step. And hey, maybe Interdimensional Observer is right and you don't actually need to do any of these things.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Deltre said:

Anyways, with this event that you guys are talking about, do I need the Meteor to do it, or is it just significantly harder without it?

Well your target is going to be located in the back of the battlefield. There is no "hard" time limit, but there is a limit on how long the battle goes, which you have some, but not complete, control over. I guess you could have dear old Haar bum rush through the back area and then ferry Soren safely into it to trigger the convo. But again, I personally don't think it is needed for what is being talked about. Two of the more intimidating enemies visually speaking won't move I believe, so don't worry about them.

But do, when you get to 3-13 pick the choice which is different in outcome from the other two (which I believe is the bottom one since it gets added on a 2nd playthrough). This I know is needed. In case you want to be absolutely sure of which choice is right, the exact wording of the right choice is:

Spoiler

"Refuse his command"

 

Also, there is another available siege tome by the time you get to the map with the battle conversation we're talking about. In 3-13:

Spoiler

Buy the Blizzard tome in the Bargains for a cheap 700 Gold.

Then make sure Zihark or Jill have it in their inventory before the 3-13's end, Zihark's is much better since he is much easier to reach according to my old Prima guide. Then during the fight with the relevant battle conversation, use Lethe/Mordecai or Haar to defect the Blizzard carrier (you don't need to worry about the DB's needs by that point, so just do it regardless) and pass the tome to Soren. Heather can steal the tome too, but that will just make things harder on yourself I'd say.

The target?

Spoiler

Pelleas.

 

 

3-13 gives you another different siege tome too. Try to keep at least 1 use on all siege weapons, why? Well I won't say right now, but I'll explain more later.

 

Do consider removing Pass and any other skill you can from Ike the next chance you get. I don't know what'd happen if you left skills on him, but to be on the safe side just remove whatever is on him.

 

Also, the next time you post, I'll offer my advice on some decision making that comes at the beginning two chapters after/beyond 3-13. Don't view said information until you reach said decision making moment, since it will be a little spoilery if you read it sooner. It is a very different decision making from the one you have to do in 3-13.

 

Edit: Because I dislike Valtome for using the same laugh as Final Fantasy VI's Kefka (who I like), I once left the game running for a few minutes while Zelgius was holding him in the air, just watching his feet struggle.

Edited by Interdimensional Observer
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Quote

Storywise, Elincia continues to impress me more and more. She's essentially 180'd from the time we first saw her where she was full of self doubt and lacking in confidence, and I quite like that bit of development she got. Not to say that laying down her arms like that wasn't foolish; it certainly was if she honestly thought Valtome would hear her words, but I think it's okay for her to still make some mistakes here and there. The fact is, she is still pretty new, despite having some new found confidence, so I can look past a little bit of naivety in this case. Besides, even if it was a little crazy to think that Begnion would back down, you have to admit that disarming herself in the middle of a battlefield was a gutsy move.

1

Yeah, even Tibarn was impressed and it takes a lot to impress that guy especially if you're a beorc. That scene reminds me of when Micaiah ordered the Dawn Brigade to drop their weapons in chapter 1-6 part 2. Though she knew by foresight what was about to happen. 

I'm really wondering what your opinion of the game will be very very soon. The suspense is frustrating because that is where shit gets real, for better or for worse. That is for you to decide. 

Edited by Icelerate
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...