The last game I bought out of pure hype was the overrated kids' game, Yo-kai Watch. Ahem, yes I did just call Yo-kai Watch a kids' game. After twenty-two painful hours of playing the game up to finishing the story I've learned to not let the power of the hype train run me down making me sprinkle my allowance over the cashier's counter either at I.Tech or Data Blitz. Just four months after that experience I realized I underestimated the choo choo friggin' hype train when out of the blue it made me want to buy Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright.
Oh my god this game is addicting.
Now I've heard the rumors about Birthright being the more casual game between the three versions of FEF but I think it is a good intro for first time Fire Emblem players. At Classic Hard Mode I think I've found the perfect balance between fun and frustration as a beginner. I am kind of regretting picking classic because, y'know, permadeath but it adds depth to the game play. You don't want your troops to die, so you have to really think about who to pair up, which enemy to approach, and so on. For the most part I'm torn between abandoning a character twenty minutes in a fight or resetting and starting over.
Twenty-five hours in and it feels like I've just scratched the surface. So many characters, so many stories to discover and conclude. Each chapter has its own gimmick and strategy proper strategy. This isn't like Disgaea where you can just throw enemies together and kill one high level enemy. Each troop is at the threat of dying in the battlefield and it's up to you to guide them to victory (well, of course that should be a given since it is a tactical rpg).
I'm currently at Chapter 15 and so far I've only allowed one of my troops to die. The other times when troops that I'm close to dies (such as Azura, Setsuna, and Sakura) I'd just silently scream to myself, check my battery life, check the time, then soft reset the game.
Class-wise the archers are friggin tanks in the game. Granted they are glass-cannons when alone but hell do they pack a punch especially after Takumi joins. Best character and fighter for me so far, though, is Setsuna. Her goofy attitude and always being caught in traps just make her so adorbs.
The story per chapter does get a little repetitive and formulaic when the Branch of Fates triggers. So far it's always Corrin in the battlefield -> Nohr conflict -> new character -> FOR HOSHIDO! -> victory -> rinse and repeat. On the other hand people have been saying Conquest is both superior in story and overall game play experience. I think I should get Conquest and Revelation as well if I want to see the whole story through but it depends. E3 is getting near, and the latest Nintendo Direct announced an equal number of to-buy and to-ignore games.
The music is good as well, though Lost in Thoughts All Alone's lyrics feels a bit forced during the first part but it does get better midway. I haven't really focused much on the BGMs per chapter as I'm too busy keeping my troops alive but if I'm too focused in the game with the speaker blasting the level music out loud then it just means the music is a perfect fit for every level. I can, however, whistle the soft tune when someone from the party dies. I've listened to it for far too many times.
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| FOR HOSHIDO! |
Now I've heard the rumors about Birthright being the more casual game between the three versions of FEF but I think it is a good intro for first time Fire Emblem players. At Classic Hard Mode I think I've found the perfect balance between fun and frustration as a beginner. I am kind of regretting picking classic because, y'know, permadeath but it adds depth to the game play. You don't want your troops to die, so you have to really think about who to pair up, which enemy to approach, and so on. For the most part I'm torn between abandoning a character twenty minutes in a fight or resetting and starting over.
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| in memory of Rinkah, first to die of permadeath |
I'm currently at Chapter 15 and so far I've only allowed one of my troops to die. The other times when troops that I'm close to dies (such as Azura, Setsuna, and Sakura) I'd just silently scream to myself, check my battery life, check the time, then soft reset the game.
Class-wise the archers are friggin tanks in the game. Granted they are glass-cannons when alone but hell do they pack a punch especially after Takumi joins. Best character and fighter for me so far, though, is Setsuna. Her goofy attitude and always being caught in traps just make her so adorbs.
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| Victory, victory~ my god she's so lovable I'd fall in a trap with her |
The music is good as well, though Lost in Thoughts All Alone's lyrics feels a bit forced during the first part but it does get better midway. I haven't really focused much on the BGMs per chapter as I'm too busy keeping my troops alive but if I'm too focused in the game with the speaker blasting the level music out loud then it just means the music is a perfect fit for every level. I can, however, whistle the soft tune when someone from the party dies. I've listened to it for far too many times.
As I mentioned above, Birthright is the first Fire Emblem game in my 3DS library not Awakening. And if you've read some of my previous gaming related posts I've been so adamant (and I still am) in adding Awakening but I always take a swerve down the road picking up a different title.
If I remember correctly I snubbed Fire Emblem Awakening a total of six times. And I figured I might as well talk about it now as the swerve curse seem to be lifted as I do have Awakening next on my list. Hopefully it's next...(then comes Hyrule Warriors Legends, oh god).
Anyway here are the games that I bought instead when I had the perfect opportunity to grab Awakening:
1. Castlevania - Lords of Shadow: Mirror of Fate and Yoshi's New Island
- the two of the worst big-franchise titles for the 3DS. I despise what Konami did to Castlevania, and I despise myself more for buying the damn game. Same reason for Yoshi's new Island. Such a beloved platform game with Nintendo's cutest dinosaur relegated to a chalkboard design and uninspiring game play. Fortunately, Yoshi found it's way back to the limelight with Yoshi's Wooly World. Castlevania? Without Koji Igarashi to lead the way Konami will likely run the franchise to the ground (if they haven't already).
2. Mario Kart 7
- I really have nothing against Mario Kart 7. It's a good game, AI sucks but still it's a good kart racing game with excellent multiplayer. But just think of the difference it would have made if I spent my bathroom time playing Awakening instead of Mario Kart. I would've clenched my butt harder (or softer?).
3. Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth
- Another game that I really enjoy playing despite its tedious manual map creation mechanic. PQ is Etrian Odyssey with a Persona pallet swap, and it works for the most part. Characters are bubbly and more exaggerated, scenarios are comedic, the battle system is great, but if you've played the main Persona series title it's easy to think that Persona Q lacks something even if it can stand as its own game. To this day I still haven't finished the game.
4. 999
- One of the best games for the NDS. 999 is a phenomenal visual novel mystery game and I'm sure its sequel Virtue's Last Reward is a hit, too. But I would've really preferred the more complex game play of Awakening.
5. Yo-kai Watch
- I friggin hate this game. It's good. I enjoyed it partially. But the whole hype about it being the next Pokemon is an too much of overstatement. Yo-kai Watch is too childish and I should've bought Awakening instead.
6. Stella Glow
- Another game by Intelligent Systems, Stella Glow features a combat system that more or less has the look-and-feel of Fire Emblem with watered down mechanics. For an JSRPG (I'm mixing sub-genres here) it's too story driven making the game look shorter but it makes up for it by having multiple endings, meaning multiple playthroughs. In Stella Glows defense I bought it because Awakening was out of stock at the time and I was really craving for a good rpg because I wanted to continue with the adventurous streak that I started with Xenoblade Chronicles X.
If I remember correctly I snubbed Fire Emblem Awakening a total of six times. And I figured I might as well talk about it now as the swerve curse seem to be lifted as I do have Awakening next on my list. Hopefully it's next...(then comes Hyrule Warriors Legends, oh god).
Anyway here are the games that I bought instead when I had the perfect opportunity to grab Awakening:
1. Castlevania - Lords of Shadow: Mirror of Fate and Yoshi's New Island
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| spoiler: they're all Belmont in the box art, if I've been reading an accurate source |
2. Mario Kart 7
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| truth be told I didn't expect google image search to be this uniform |
3. Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth
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| I still don't know what the Q stands for |
4. 999
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| we've all picked Funyarinpa before, I'm sure |
5. Yo-kai Watch
- I friggin hate this game. It's good. I enjoyed it partially. But the whole hype about it being the next Pokemon is an too much of overstatement. Yo-kai Watch is too childish and I should've bought Awakening instead.
6. Stella Glow
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