What is your favorite Fire Emblem era?

[Shakespeare1142]

Is it the old school Shozo Kaga stuff? (so intricate)

The GBA games? (Classic stories and cool sprite art)

The Radiant Series? (The 3D transition and diverity of gameplay)

The contemporary games? (Accessibility and style)

[coldhand25]

GBA saga for sure, the sprites were so cool, when I first played 7 I literally refused to believe it is a 2003 game - that said, I haven't really played GBA games back then, only pokemon and some Rayman Advance, and they didn't have so awesome animations. Then I play 8, and man, was it amongst the best games I've ever played. I loved the characters, the story, once again the animations, the world, the main story path-split, the villains... Everything really. However, as it is well known, 8 is quite easy, so when I went back to play 4, well, let's just say I wasn't ready for it. Much like with 5. Haven't played them since, but I know I really should. As for newer ones, I don't really like the 3d stuff that's going on in RD and PoR... Awakening is good, Fates not so much. Echoes: SoV is probably my second favourite. But yeah, GBA games are my favourite, without question.

[Sub Zero]

Its a good tie between the GBA and 3DS games..GBA had cool ass battle animations and good stories (for the most part).

The 3DS era of games had too many good characters. I mean, I don't usually care about videogame characters but god damn the characters in this era were fantastic.

Edited December 11, 2018 by Emperor Chiam Longblade

[Silver-Haired Maiden]

The Radiant games are still my favorites. Nothing's even come close to beating them... yet. We'll see how future titles hold up.

[Truebladee]

The Radiant Series for sure <3

[Zihark11]

Radiant Series. its what i first played and still like it the best for so many reasons.

[Arcphoenix]

Gosh. This is admittedly difficult for me as the only era I've really thoroughly been in is 3DS. I'm going to say either 3DS or Wii/GCN from my experience so far. I feel that SoV was my favorite variation of the FE formula so far and PoR has my favorite standard formula for FE. I love the My Castle, multiplayer battles, class flexibility, and avatar creation from Fates (though I'm always going to prefer New Mystery for actually having an option of big hair for males).

 

I do like Blazing, but Binding is too much of a bore for me to motivate myself through and I've yet to try Sacred Stones, so I can't say its my favorite

Edited December 11, 2018 by Arcphoenix

[Etrurian emperor]

The GBA/gamecube era because they found the perfect middle ground. The Kaga era(or at least the Jugdral one) had the storytelling but not the technology to properly tell it. The 3ds era had the technology but not the stories while the GBA/gamecube era had both. 

[NinjaMonkey]

Tellius, always Tellius.

[Slumber]

Radiant and the SNES eras are pretty close. I have trouble picking one. The Radiant era is the most consistently great, while the SNES era has most of the series' peaks in quite a few areas, IMO.

[smgrinus]

I always end up going back to replay the Radiant series and Tear Ring/Berwick Saga. 

[Jingle Jangle]

The 3ds era minus Echoes. I joined the series because of Awakening

[Shakespeare1142]

8 hours ago, Etrurian emperor said:

The GBA/gamecube era because they found the perfect middle ground. The Kaga era(or at least the Jugdral one) had the storytelling but not the technology to properly tell it. The 3ds era had the technology but not the stories while the GBA/gamecube era had both. 

Oh dude I totallly feel you, the balance of polish and . style is just right

[Shakespeare1142]

Boy nobody likes the Famicom games very much do they?

[Shadow Mir]

14 hours ago, SamP832 said:

Boy nobody likes the Famicom games very much do they?

That's not surprising, since they have aged rather poorly. Of course, their both having remakes that are much more accessible doesn't help.

23 hours ago, Etrurian emperor said:

The GBA/gamecube era because they found the perfect middle ground. The Kaga era(or at least the Jugdral one) had the storytelling but not the technology to properly tell it. The 3ds era had the technology but not the stories while the GBA/gamecube era had both. 

I am rather hesitant to agree with the GBA era having good stories when Blazing Blade was the only one with a decent story (Binding Blade's story is literally a retread of the story of another FE game, and the less said about the disaster that is Sacred Stones's story, the better).

Anyways, I say Tellius and the 3DS era are close. The Kaga era mostly aged poorly, in addition to going out with a whimper (the Jugdral saga is the low point of the series, far as I'm concerned). The GBA era was better, but two of its games aren't exactly good.

[Rapaille]

Kaga era has my two favourite games but I have only played the first chapter of fe1, didn't even touch fe2 and I'm stuck on fe3 (I know how stupid that sounds) and don't have the motivation to continue.

GBA era has fe6 which I really like, fe7 which is fun and fe8 which I don't like that much because it is the Super Mario Galaxy 2 of Fire Emblem (taking a previous game/engine, add a few small things that don't make that big a difference in the grand scheme of things and make it so easy that the game becomes unremarkable). 

Tellius I haven't played.

3ds has Awakening which is fun, Fates which is my least favourite and fe15 which is a flawed game with an enjoyable story and characters.

If I do the math and count all games I enjoy in that era then Kaga= 2/5, GBA= 2/3 and 3ds= 1,5/3. So shockingly enough it is...  The DS games because I like all 2 of them. 

But in all seriousness I like the DS era the most because while the games are unremarkable I really enjoy them and the other eras have to deep lowpoints for me to say that they are my favourite (or I was just lazy and didn't play all games that the era has to offer). Or are the DS games part of the 3DS era (also called contemporary era)? 

[Shakespeare1142]

9 hours ago, Shadow Mir said:

That's not surprising, since they have aged rather poorly. Of course, their both having remakes that are much more accessible doesn't help.

I am rather hesitant to agree with the GBA era having good stories when Blazing Blade was the only one with a decent story (Binding Blade's story is literally a retread of the story of another FE game, and the less said about the disaster that is Sacred Stones's story, the better).

Anyways, I say Tellius and the 3DS era are close. The Kaga era mostly aged poorly, in addition to going out with a whimper (the Jugdral saga is the low point of the series, far as I'm concerned). The GBA era was better, but two of its games aren't exactly good.

Sacred Stones isn't breathtaking and it has very hammy vaguely medieval dialogue but many characters are very interesting and drive the story forward. and yeah, the writing staff of fe6 pretty much said that it was trying to elaborate on marths story in Shadow Dragon and there's also a rumor some elements were recycled elements from the canceled N64 game, the plot is a slightly more in depth version of marths story with similar characters,  as foor Jugdral, i'm suprised you'd rank it lower than the original nes game, but i'm sure you have good reason, how do you feel about Tear Ring/Emblem Saga?

[Shakespeare1142]

8 hours ago, LJwalhout said:

Kaga era has my two favourite games but I have only played the first chapter of fe1, didn't even touch fe2 and I'm stuck on fe3 (I know how stupid that sounds) and don't have the motivation to continue.

GBA era has fe6 which I really like, fe7 which is fun and fe8 which I don't like that much because it is the Super Mario Galaxy 2 of Fire Emblem (taking a previous game/engine, add a few small things that don't make that big a difference in the grand scheme of things and make it so easy that the game becomes unremarkable). 

Tellius I haven't played.

3ds has Awakening which is fun, Fates which is my least favourite and fe15 which is a flawed game with an enjoyable story and characters.

If I do the math and count all games I enjoy in that era then Kaga= 2/5, GBA= 2/3 and 3ds= 1,5/3. So shockingly enough it is...  The DS games because I like all 2 of them. 

But in all seriousness I like the DS era the most because while the games are unremarkable I really enjoy them and the other eras have to deep lowpoints for me to say that they are my favourite (or I was just lazy and didn't play all games that the era has to offer). Or are the DS games part of the 3DS era (also called contemporary era)? 

You aren't stupid, it's a tactics game the fun is thinking through it

As for FE8 yeah that kind of applies to the characters too, I like FE6 gameplay wise

I haven't played telius either, supposedly they're like weirdly hard but i think i might try the first few maps and see what I think

The 3ds games are really well balanced as though the game play follows this rhythm and it can get really immersive when you really start thinking like a tactician

Also i call it contemporary mostle because of 3 houses

Edited December 13, 2018 by SamP832
forgot something

[Cute Chao]

GBA for sure. I think the sprites and animations were the best, while FE7 is still my favourite to this day. I also really enjoyed FE8, although struggled somewhat with FE6.

I liked FE9 but didn't really enjoy FE10. I enjoyed the 3DS games but they don't hold the same magic, while the older games lack supports, which is one of my favourite things about FE. The GBA era seemed to have it just right (except limiting the supports).

[Shadow Mir]

On 12/12/2018 at 9:18 PM, SamP832 said:

Sacred Stones isn't breathtaking and it has very hammy vaguely medieval dialogue but many characters are very interesting and drive the story forward. and yeah, the writing staff of fe6 pretty much said that it was trying to elaborate on marths story in Shadow Dragon and there's also a rumor some elements were recycled elements from the canceled N64 game, the plot is a slightly more in depth version of marths story with similar characters,  as foor Jugdral, i'm suprised you'd rank it lower than the original nes game, but i'm sure you have good reason, how do you feel about Tear Ring/Emblem Saga?

Unfortunately, Sacred Stones's "plot" is one-dimensional, and goes to crap after the first part. Also, most of its characters are hardly what I would call compelling or memorable, especially the villains. As for Jugdral, let's just say it's where the gameplay aspect of FE is at its weakest BY FAR. If that wasn't enough, the mechanics are off-putting, which, along with the awful gameplay, makes them feel like a huge misfire. Now, I'm all for the games having stuff to make them stand out from one another, but I draw the line at when "unique" gives birth to "unplayable", which is what happened with Jugdral. I'm not very familiar with Tear Ring Saga, so I doubt I could give you a straight answer to that.

Edited December 16, 2018 by Shadow Mir

[DarthR0xas]

I'd say the Tellius saga is where the gameplay/story balance was the best it's ever been. PoR story is amazing, and it's gameplay is great, although it still has some of the lingering effects of the GBA era's spam enemies. RD's gameplay is amazing, and it's story is alright. Parts 1, 2 and half of 3 are outstanding, and then it all starts to go downhill with blood pacts and other nonsense. By the time the tower hit, the only two levels I really care for in it were the Black Knight chapter and Deghinseas chapter. Also Lekain, but that's mainly since I could finally curbstomp that fool into his rightful place. What really allows these stories to thrive is that they build off one another in a great degree. It isn't like Elibe, where it feels like they had to retroactively add elements in order for there to be a second game, and it doesn't feel like Jugdral or Achanea where the other games feel like side stories that don't have too much bearing on the plot, or in the latter's case, where they just use the setting for fan-service. I'd say the mark of a good series of stories is where you can play them in reverse order, and the emotional moments can still hit relatively hard. I played RD first, and then when I played PoR, getting all the references and moments felt amazing. 

Jugdral comes in second for me. I personally split the Kaga era into two parts, FE1-3 (still need to play 3) and 4+5. Jugdral has gameplay that has a steep learning curb, but also feels the most rewarding to master and use mechanics. It also feels like the most scale an FE story has been able to portray during gameplay. I also really love the SNES animations. While the GBA era of animations is undoubtedly the best, there's just something to the SNES animations. They portray a more real sense with physical weapons, and then go all out with magic ones. That said, it does have some clunk that pre-FE7 games have, and it isn't really able to mask it with 8-bit charm like FE1 and 2. If the mechanics were better explained, the games as a whole would be better. As is, it's a great story mapped onto a series of games that are polar opposites with similar issues, and they're still some of my favorites.

GBA era comes next. Probably the second best presentation the series has to date. The stories aren't exactly the best, but the gameplay is great to make up for it. FE6 still has some Kaga clunk to it (like not being able to use items in battle prep), but overall is fine. FE7 is pretty good and mostly balanced, except for archers being next to worthless. FE8 is FE8, it's balanced in the sense that everything is viable due to grinding and ease of everything. Good and fun games.

The NES and 3Ds eras tie for me, the NES since it's decent quality elevated by 8-bit charm and the 3Ds era is so low due to the variability of quality. Echoes is my second favorite game in the series, while Awakening is one of my least favorite and Fates is somewhere in the middle, probably below Jugdral. FE1 and 2 have some awesome sprites, decent animations, and an incredibly slow pace. Like seriously, I basically have them on double speed all the time, with some FE11/15 music on in the background. What makes it not a chore is a general curiosity of what's next. How can this game be pushed further, and what else does it do. The NES era exemplifies this best, mainly due to the limitations. That and there's just something about 8bit games that makes it really hard for me to hate them. Awakening, while fun at points, is generally too easy of a slog with a plot that isn't rewarding behind it, or it's brutally unfair and not fun in the slightest. Fates is a decently challenging, with the hands down worst plot, but some of the best gameplay. Echoes has the best presentation of any FE game, with pretty good gameplay and a great story.

I've never finished the DS games, although what I played of Shadow Dragon was pretty meh, so they're here at the bottom.

[Shakespeare1142]

1 hour ago, Shadow Mir said:

Unfortunately, Sacred Stones's "plot" is one-dimensional, and goes to crap after the first part. Also, most of its characters are hardly what I would call compelling or memorable, especially the villains. As for Jugdral, let's just say it's where the gameplay aspect of FE is at its weakest BY FAR. If that wasn't enough, the mechanics are off-putting, which, along with the awful gameplay, makes them feel like a huge misfire. Now, I'm all for the games having stuff to make them stand out from one another, but I draw the line at when "unique" gives birth to "unplayable", which is what happened with Jugdral. I'm not very familiar with Tear Ring Saga, so I doubt I could give you a straight answer to that.

I don't know, I think the protagonists are rubbish in sacred stones, i do wish the characters and sub-plots that do work got more screen time such as Lyons role in the lives of Eireka and Ephram so that we get a greater sense of the internal conflict faced by the cast in confronting him, I also feel that Joshua's "Big twist" would be more effective if more time was spent setting up his arc and exploring the enigmatic nature of his character, and yes absolutely after the first act the story slows to a crawl. I don't feel Jugdrals machanics render the game unplayable necessarily, they present a great deal of complexity and from time to time act as a hindrance than an extra tool in the toolbox, it is not a game for someone not well versed in strategy games. Tear Ring saga is weird, it's shozo kaga trying to make a fire emblem game not a fire emblem game

[Roland]

The Tellius series, and it's not even a contest too. GBA had Blazing Blade, but that's it. Sacred Stones and Binding Blade are rather dull, the latter more than the former, and the DS games were wasted potential sadly. And the 3DS games...I'm not going to get into it.

[Shadow Mir]

On 12/16/2018 at 2:22 PM, Shakespeare1142 said:

I don't know, I think the protagonists are rubbish in sacred stones, i do wish the characters and sub-plots that do work got more screen time such as Lyons role in the lives of Eireka and Ephram so that we get a greater sense of the internal conflict faced by the cast in confronting him, I also feel that Joshua's "Big twist" would be more effective if more time was spent setting up his arc and exploring the enigmatic nature of his character, and yes absolutely after the first act the story slows to a crawl. I don't feel Jugdrals machanics render the game unplayable necessarily, they present a great deal of complexity and from time to time act as a hindrance than an extra tool in the toolbox, it is not a game for someone not well versed in strategy games. Tear Ring saga is weird, it's shozo kaga trying to make a fire emblem game not a fire emblem game

See, that's exactly what I'm complaining about. Celica gets a lot of criticism, but I find it harder to accept any defense of Eirika's lategame actions. Regarding the Jugdral games, that's not really doing them any favours - it's still lame game design. Especially when both of them are already extremely hard to play, with almost nothing in terms of redeeming features to make up for this. This goes double for Thracia, where healing staves can miss, which automatically makes it not worth playing. 

[Shakespeare1142]

3 hours ago, Shadow Mir said:

See, that's exactly what I'm complaining about. Celica gets a lot of criticism, but I find it harder to accept any defense of Eirika's lategame actions. Regarding the Jugdral games, that's not really doing them any favours - it's still lame game design. Especially when both of them are already extremely hard to play, with almost nothing in terms of redeeming features to make up for this. This goes double for Thracia, where healing staves can miss, which automatically makes it not worth playing. 

just because a game is difficult doesn't mean it's poorly designed, it's a strategy game, you've got to think through it (Though sometimes in Geneology i feel like it eliminates the potential for tactical variety like there's only one practical way to complete an objective you know? and to me that flies in the face of the franchises design philosophy). I do agree that thracia is unforgiving though, it's debatably the most difficult game in the franchise and not in a good way, there are facets in there that don't really belong you know? As though like maybe they didn't have the tools to implement them in a player-friendly way, does that make sense? also, can I be honest and say that the finale of FE8 was kind of underwhelming i didn't really feel like the resolution was very cathartic or even emotional.