I've been meaning to settle the score with Fire Emblem 7 for quite some time. For whatever reason I've always been fascinated with FE7, going back to the days when I was into Smash Brothers. "Oh, this is the one with Lyn and Roy's dad!" When looking into the series on my own time back then, I had read on a lot of pages that this one was considered one of the easiest FE games alongside the first available in English, so it made me want to start there. One problem though. The game was EXPENSIVE. Even back then mfs on eBay were scalping the hell out of these games, so my hopes of ever getting to play it dwindled.
That was until I was introduced to the world of emulation, and shortly after one of my priorities was this game. I started it... And stopped playing. Why? I forgot. Then this other time I borrowed my girlfriend's Raspberry Pie which had this game loaded on it, so I tried going through the game again. Dropped it. Then I tried an emulator a second time, starting from the beginning because I had switched emulators. I stopped playing. For the life of me I could not stick to finishing this game because I kept changing my method of playing it.
Fast forward a year or two and I had randomly been enticed to play a Fire Emblem game from start to finish, that being The Sacred Stones, and I really liked it! "Now that I'm a fan of this series, maybe this is my chance to finish 7 already!" I said, so I started playing aaaaand... I put it on hold. Yakuza had already consumed my life at that point. THEN after two months I picked up this game again and was absolutely motivated to finish it, and I FINALLY GOT IT DONE.
So onto the game itself, it's very similar to the other one I had played, Sacred Stones, which isn't a bad thing actually. I really liked the gameplay of that one so hopping into this felt really easy to do. I still had to trudge through the overly long tutorial (which at this point I had experienced nearly 5 times), but once I got to Eliwood's story things started to pick up. The gameplay of the GBA Fire Emblems is very quick and snappy, combined with stellar presentation and battle animations. I like the class system and weapon triangles which add an extra layer of depth to the combat mechanics. As for the maps, I liked most of them although the later ones can suck shit at times, especially with enemy spam. The final boss chapter was also just awful, I almost wanted to stop playing from how unforgiving and long it was. But still, I managed to pull through.
Fire Emblem 7 really stuck the landing for me because of it's characters. I already mentioned Lyn and Eliwood but HECTOR steals the show for me, he's so cool and immensely overpowered at points, alongside just being a cool character. Priscilla, Florina, Rebecca, and Marcus were also some characters I really liked, just to name a few. While many of them aren't really deep in terms of writing, they deliver by being distinct and charming in their own ways. Eliwood especially goes through a lot of tough shit throughout the story, I felt kinda bad for the guy. At the time of this review I still haven't played Hector mode but I definitely will in the future, because it adds a lot of characters and story moments to make the experience more complete. Even so, FE7 as is has a simple but fun and engaging narrative with a cast of very likable helpers.
So was it worth the wait and countless resets to finish Fire Emblem 7 to me after all this time? I'd say so. While the game is definitely very flawed, and I can see why in the grand scheme of the franchise it isn't very special, it means a lot to me because of my needlessly complex history and fascination with it. Definitely would recommend at least trying this one!
That was until I was introduced to the world of emulation, and shortly after one of my priorities was this game. I started it... And stopped playing. Why? I forgot. Then this other time I borrowed my girlfriend's Raspberry Pie which had this game loaded on it, so I tried going through the game again. Dropped it. Then I tried an emulator a second time, starting from the beginning because I had switched emulators. I stopped playing. For the life of me I could not stick to finishing this game because I kept changing my method of playing it.
Fast forward a year or two and I had randomly been enticed to play a Fire Emblem game from start to finish, that being The Sacred Stones, and I really liked it! "Now that I'm a fan of this series, maybe this is my chance to finish 7 already!" I said, so I started playing aaaaand... I put it on hold. Yakuza had already consumed my life at that point. THEN after two months I picked up this game again and was absolutely motivated to finish it, and I FINALLY GOT IT DONE.
So onto the game itself, it's very similar to the other one I had played, Sacred Stones, which isn't a bad thing actually. I really liked the gameplay of that one so hopping into this felt really easy to do. I still had to trudge through the overly long tutorial (which at this point I had experienced nearly 5 times), but once I got to Eliwood's story things started to pick up. The gameplay of the GBA Fire Emblems is very quick and snappy, combined with stellar presentation and battle animations. I like the class system and weapon triangles which add an extra layer of depth to the combat mechanics. As for the maps, I liked most of them although the later ones can suck shit at times, especially with enemy spam. The final boss chapter was also just awful, I almost wanted to stop playing from how unforgiving and long it was. But still, I managed to pull through.
Fire Emblem 7 really stuck the landing for me because of it's characters. I already mentioned Lyn and Eliwood but HECTOR steals the show for me, he's so cool and immensely overpowered at points, alongside just being a cool character. Priscilla, Florina, Rebecca, and Marcus were also some characters I really liked, just to name a few. While many of them aren't really deep in terms of writing, they deliver by being distinct and charming in their own ways. Eliwood especially goes through a lot of tough shit throughout the story, I felt kinda bad for the guy. At the time of this review I still haven't played Hector mode but I definitely will in the future, because it adds a lot of characters and story moments to make the experience more complete. Even so, FE7 as is has a simple but fun and engaging narrative with a cast of very likable helpers.
So was it worth the wait and countless resets to finish Fire Emblem 7 to me after all this time? I'd say so. While the game is definitely very flawed, and I can see why in the grand scheme of the franchise it isn't very special, it means a lot to me because of my needlessly complex history and fascination with it. Definitely would recommend at least trying this one!
Fire Emblem 7 is my personal favorite video game ever made.
I received it for Christmas of 2003 from my aunt along with my new Flame Red Gameboy SP from my mother. I don't know why she got it for me, nor will I ever question it. Cause it changed my life, for better or worse.
The original Fire Emblem games by Shouzou Kaga were smash hits in Japan. Kaga wanted a strategy game wherein "each character is a protagonist in their own right, and you can actually get attached to them, making it closer to an RPG[.]" I always wax poetic about "player expression" whenever I am reviewing games nowadays, and that was what Kaga wanted in his series. When asked about it in the same interview, he opines, "I think this is something people understand once they play the game, but most of the characters are usable. And characters who at first seem like crappy, throwaway characters–if you take the time to build them up and nurture them, they can become incredibly powerful. We made a lot of characters like that."
Fast forwarding to 2003, Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade follows the same design philosphy. Tohru Narihiro, a producer at Intelligent Systems states in a May 2003 interview that "The primary focus was to enable people do not play SRPGs to enjoy it." It is a simple game, released 6 years after Final Fantasy Tactics, the game most people (myself included) would credit as having popularized SRPGs in the west.
Firstly, I will get the obvious out of the way. This is an absolutely beautiful game with stunning pixel art and an incredible score. It is an absolute aesthetic masterpiece, with much of the groundwork laid out by its predecessor The Binding Blade. These two games are some the best looking and sounding titles in the entire Gameboy Advance library. That honor is owed to two veritable superwomen of the genre who do not get enough credit. There was Sachiko Wada, who did the character portraits as well as in-game CGs. Her art was the stuff of dreams for me, and it honestly still is. She can nail quiet beauty to war-weary stoicness; adorably cute to horrifically ugly and everything in between. Her art gives the game so much of its character- it wouldn't be FE7 without Wada's portraits. As much as I really like the art from the older entries, her work is the Fire Emblem platonic ideal. Her designs really do form the baseline by which I often compare other characters, even in other games. Wada has only worked on the Fire Emblem series to date and she is seriously incredible. She still does artwork for the Fire Emblem Heroes gacha and some commemorative pieces as well, all of which can be checked out on her Pixiv. Then there is the game's composer, Yuka Tsujiyoko. Tracks like “Wind across the Plains,” “Companions,” etc. have become iconic pieces within the series and that is all thanks to Tsujiyoko’s virtuosity. “Bern - A Mother’s Wish” deserved a real sound chip! As much as people hate the squeals and scratches of the hardware, she made it sound wonderful, particularly on the main theme, which to this day is my favorite rendition of such an iconic leitmotif.
Fire Emblem’s story is segmented into three different “modes,” one of which is a prologue and two of which exist as parallel timelines, each focusing on one of three central protagonists.
Lyndis, the first protagonist, acted as a model introduction for so many people into the world of Fire Emblem and strategy RPGs in general. It is comprised of ten simple maps and appropriately scaled narrative- a tight well constructed intro arc of a young woman of the plains discovering she is of royal birthright. Lyndis meets friends and foes alike who each introduce core concept of the games mechanics - the weapon triangle, siege maps, rout maps, terrain bonuses, party organization, enemy reinforcements, fog of war, etc.
Lyndis is a strong character, never a damsel in distress, neither beholden to expectations of her ethnicity nor her gender. Her journey through a war torn Caelin hints at far greater forces at work, but keeps things focused on her own personal odyssey and growth. Lyn Mode does have it’s fair share of criticism, particularly the forced tutorial aspects which has annoyed veteran players to the point that removing it has become a staple for ROM hackers. Lyn Mode is very easy too, but it is supposed to be, because it’s supposed to be an introduction to major gameplay concepts. It is a tutorial that has gone a step beyond, with a likable character arc and some of the most endearing playable units in the entire series. One of my main criticisms of the game is that Lyn ends up being less useful from a metagaming standpoint, because she is one of my favorite characters in any video game.
“The nomads of the plains do not abandon their fellow tribespeople. Eliwood and Hector are my dear friends… Their sorrow is my sorrow. Their anger is my anger.” - Lyndis in Chapter 31E/33H, Light
Then the world opens up to Eliwood’s story, the game begins a proper progression into an extensive and oftentimes challenging strategy game. Eliwood is a comparatively tame and even boring choice of protagonist compared to Lyn, sort of the picturesque shonen hero that we associate with earlier Fire Emblem. He even has the big sword to boot. Yet as the world opens up and we meet the cast, learn of the surrounding nations and their inhabitants, his story arc still maintains high quality. Eliwood mode, for better or worse, is the way we are introduced to the meat and potatoes of the game. You fight your way through sprawling maps with scores of enemy units, conveying a desperate struggle as the flames of war engulf the surrounding landscape. The political intrigue and stories of love, loss and betrayal convey great emotional weight; they serve as amazing backdrops to particularly difficult maps. The game oozes despair as armies of unfeeling humanoid killers descend on Prince Zephiel in the dead of night, or when Ostia lays under siege. The constant threat of the mercenary group The Black Fang, whom have sentenced you to death “softly, with grace.”
“In the name of the Fang, I sentence you to death. Do not blame me for your fate. It is your own doing.” - Lloyd Reed, in Chapter 23E/24H: Four-Fanged Offense
Of course the real star of the show is the game’s third protagonist, Hector, he of the blue-haired and brash Fire Emblem family. Hector Mode is considered Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade’s greatest triumph- specifically “Hector Hard Mode” (HHM) which is considerably more difficult than any of the other game modes. Hector was the proto-Ike, a gigantic presence on and off the battlefield. He feels much more magnetic than Eliwood, but their brotherhood is what serves as one of the best parts of the game’s narrative. Hector essentially abandons his post as a royal to help his friend and must deal with the consequences and his own regrets. Eliwood’s story is fully complemented and two’s stories intertwine in perfect harmony as both come to terms with the realities of the war. Hector’s path also opens up several different maps, all quite difficult; and also serves as the basis for unlocking all the hidden lore within the game. Once you have experience HHM, you really have experienced the full breadth of what this game can offer- it is an immensely satisfying and well balanced experience with a great trio of protagonists.
“Listen, Mark. You know how Eliwood is. Never wants to burden anyone else… Takes all responsibility on himself… Now, more than ever, we have to support him. Let’s go, Mark!” - Hector in Chapter 28E, Valorous Roland
Much of what we understand as the modern conception of the "SRPG" is owed to Kaga's production of Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light; which on its own was produced to be a more accessible, character-driven answer to strategy games prior. Indeed, Fire Emblem throughout the years has relied on rather simple calculations for its different gameplay functions. Take the calculation in Blazing Blade for Attack Speed (which determines if you will attack twice during the fight, referred to a "doubling"):
AS = (Speed) - (Burden)
Burden = (Wt) - (Con); negative Burden values are set to 0
Wt = value of unit's equipped weapon's weight
Con = value of the given unit's constitution.
The calculation for whether or not you can "double" is as follows:
[(Unit's attack speed) − (target's attack speed)] ≥ 4
This is something that can very easily be calculated in a couple minutes just looking at a unit's stat spread and their weapon stats. Everything is simple to understand. You can tell just from looking at the Mani Katti weapon that is effective against infantry. What does that mean in the context of the game? It simply deals bonus damage; calculated as 3x the amount of damage you do (which has its own calculation.)
The best part? You don't even need to know this math in FE7. If you can double, it gives you a x2 indicator next to the might, which is calculated for you. Effective weapons will have glowing text. The weapon triangle is a relatively simple Rock Paper Scissors mechanic as well. This sort of simplicity is what makes the game’s combat intuitive for me to play even back in 2003. It has a high skill ceiling yet isn’t obtuse. The ultimate accessible strategy RPG, a direct descendant of the forefather of the genre itself.
Throughout the development of the series, Kaga noted that some people found the games too simple on a mechanical level; to this, he responded that "Well, that is an understandable response from the perspective of hardcore strategy buffs... [b]ut for Nintendo-made products, the baseline for the development is always that it be easy to play to the end, something “anyone can pick up and enjoy.” And I think that is a perfectly fine approach in its own right." Hironobu Sakaguchi, who had the very same design philosophy for Final Fantasy, would agree; and he was in fact a fan of the series himself.
I have great reverence for Final Fantasy Tactics and I think it is one of the greatest contributions to the entire corpus of strategy games. Just from playing the first few maps of Tactics I understood implicitly that this game had depth far and beyond anything produced during the SNES or GBA era of Fire Emblems. Tactics pushed the boundaries of the genre, both from a mechanical and storytelling perspective and I love the game. Yet I wouldn't recommend Tactics as an introduction to the genre to most people. Sure, it popularized the genre to people who didn't know anything about strategy RPGs prior, but I think Blazing Blade is in fact the real perfect introduction to the genre and works as a gateway into the wider world of the genre- which includes Final Fantasy Tactics in its unfiltered glory.
The units in Tactics are for the most part faceless generics, whom allow you complete freedom in how you shape you army. By contrast, every playable unit in Fire Emblem 7 has a face, a story and a unique role with stats to complement. These approaches both have merit. I love the generic soldier concept, especially in games without permadeath systems like the fantastic Fell Seal: Arbiter’s Mark. We have Final Fantasy Tactics to thank for that.
The strength of Blazing Blade's approach sacrifices individual unit freedom for the prospect of forming emotional bonds with the characters, whom have established backstories and personalities. I always enjoyed Serra’s love-hate relationship with Erk, even if both units were weaker and harder to train. I felt a strong connection to them as characters and had a vested interest in raising them within the army. As a kid, I simply wouldn't have been able to fully appreciate the gameplay freedom inherent in FFT’s generics in comparison versus the strong personalities of Erk and Serra. I certainly would not have felt as compelled to reset a map to save a generic, faceless unit if there was a permadeath mechanic.
The approach towards unit death in strategy games has always been traditionally one of the numbers game, especially in games that try to hew closer to realism. Julian Gollop taught the world with XCOM: UFO Defense that overconfidence invites disaster and we must learn to manage our losses- not everyone is going to make it out ok and sometimes your best soldiers have to be sacrificed to make it through the mission. Real-time strategy games are so often about throwing hordes at one another, because that is truly what war is.
Kaga took this approach with the initial games in the series because he "wanted to create a game where the player could get more emotionally invested in what’s happening." He wanted a refutation of the numbers game, and this is often highlighted by each character’s individual death quote if they are slain in battle. Any Fire Emblem player can tell you stories of the permadeath system and the psychological impetus it puts on your actions in this game. I remember running through Four-Fanged Offense in my first playthrough as a kid. Doing everything right, and I understood implicitly I had put in serious progress for my overall army's strength. All of that... just to lose my underleveled Guy to a terrifying guerilla attack from the boss. I was in tears of frustration. Then I reset the game and did it all again. I did that despite the fact I didn't even need Guy to continue on through the game. I did it because I was invested and I wanted him to be stronger and see it through to the end. I could've continued, replaced him in the army. But that wouldn't be Guy in my army. I couldn't just replace him with a identical, perhaps even stronger generic unit. He would be lost forever, and dead from a narrative standpoint. Lost as a casualty of war while the other characters pushed through to victory. I couldn't deal with that. This is something Fire Emblem really became famous for among gaming circles.
Permadeath is so contentious that the series itself changes its attitude towards it as it attempted to garner more mass appeal. Permadeath in the later entries like Three Houses is now locked behind “Classic” modes while consequences are far lighter in casual or normal gameplay difficulties. That feels like a poignant descriptor. The specter of permadeath and its affect on your gameplay is just quintessential Fire Emblem to me. There isn’t a better word to describe the experience of Fire Emblem 7 than “classic.”
"[Interviewer:] There is a scene where an important character dies along the way. What was the reason behind including this death scene?
[Tohru Narihiro:] This is a recurring theme throughout the series. The game is one with fighting, but is not just about fighting. The underlying theme of the series that we want people to feel is the foolishness and fickle nature of war and battle. This has been the continuous theme of the series."
Simply put, I don't think I would have been able to appreciate Final Fantasy Tactics as that kid back in 2003, and possibly not have forged the same relationship with strategy games (and games in general) as I did with Blazing Blade. I don't think that lessens Tactic’s impact as a seminal piece of art. I think it just speaks to why my connection to Fire Emblem 7 feels more significant.
Playing as an adult, the game hasn’t remotely lost its luster to me. I don’t even view this as a product of nostalgia- Fire Emblem 7 stands proud among its compatriots with a well designed ratio of difficulty, strong characterization, implicit depth, intuitive game design, and player expression. You can take the road of ruthless efficiency, sacrifice units if you have to, and achieve your low turn count mastery of the game. You can raise your favorite units and see them through to the end. You can do a little of both. The game is amazing regardless.
I love Fire Emblem, I love strategy RPGs and I have this game to thank for that.
I received it for Christmas of 2003 from my aunt along with my new Flame Red Gameboy SP from my mother. I don't know why she got it for me, nor will I ever question it. Cause it changed my life, for better or worse.
The original Fire Emblem games by Shouzou Kaga were smash hits in Japan. Kaga wanted a strategy game wherein "each character is a protagonist in their own right, and you can actually get attached to them, making it closer to an RPG[.]" I always wax poetic about "player expression" whenever I am reviewing games nowadays, and that was what Kaga wanted in his series. When asked about it in the same interview, he opines, "I think this is something people understand once they play the game, but most of the characters are usable. And characters who at first seem like crappy, throwaway characters–if you take the time to build them up and nurture them, they can become incredibly powerful. We made a lot of characters like that."
Fast forwarding to 2003, Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade follows the same design philosphy. Tohru Narihiro, a producer at Intelligent Systems states in a May 2003 interview that "The primary focus was to enable people do not play SRPGs to enjoy it." It is a simple game, released 6 years after Final Fantasy Tactics, the game most people (myself included) would credit as having popularized SRPGs in the west.
Firstly, I will get the obvious out of the way. This is an absolutely beautiful game with stunning pixel art and an incredible score. It is an absolute aesthetic masterpiece, with much of the groundwork laid out by its predecessor The Binding Blade. These two games are some the best looking and sounding titles in the entire Gameboy Advance library. That honor is owed to two veritable superwomen of the genre who do not get enough credit. There was Sachiko Wada, who did the character portraits as well as in-game CGs. Her art was the stuff of dreams for me, and it honestly still is. She can nail quiet beauty to war-weary stoicness; adorably cute to horrifically ugly and everything in between. Her art gives the game so much of its character- it wouldn't be FE7 without Wada's portraits. As much as I really like the art from the older entries, her work is the Fire Emblem platonic ideal. Her designs really do form the baseline by which I often compare other characters, even in other games. Wada has only worked on the Fire Emblem series to date and she is seriously incredible. She still does artwork for the Fire Emblem Heroes gacha and some commemorative pieces as well, all of which can be checked out on her Pixiv. Then there is the game's composer, Yuka Tsujiyoko. Tracks like “Wind across the Plains,” “Companions,” etc. have become iconic pieces within the series and that is all thanks to Tsujiyoko’s virtuosity. “Bern - A Mother’s Wish” deserved a real sound chip! As much as people hate the squeals and scratches of the hardware, she made it sound wonderful, particularly on the main theme, which to this day is my favorite rendition of such an iconic leitmotif.
Fire Emblem’s story is segmented into three different “modes,” one of which is a prologue and two of which exist as parallel timelines, each focusing on one of three central protagonists.
Lyndis, the first protagonist, acted as a model introduction for so many people into the world of Fire Emblem and strategy RPGs in general. It is comprised of ten simple maps and appropriately scaled narrative- a tight well constructed intro arc of a young woman of the plains discovering she is of royal birthright. Lyndis meets friends and foes alike who each introduce core concept of the games mechanics - the weapon triangle, siege maps, rout maps, terrain bonuses, party organization, enemy reinforcements, fog of war, etc.
Lyndis is a strong character, never a damsel in distress, neither beholden to expectations of her ethnicity nor her gender. Her journey through a war torn Caelin hints at far greater forces at work, but keeps things focused on her own personal odyssey and growth. Lyn Mode does have it’s fair share of criticism, particularly the forced tutorial aspects which has annoyed veteran players to the point that removing it has become a staple for ROM hackers. Lyn Mode is very easy too, but it is supposed to be, because it’s supposed to be an introduction to major gameplay concepts. It is a tutorial that has gone a step beyond, with a likable character arc and some of the most endearing playable units in the entire series. One of my main criticisms of the game is that Lyn ends up being less useful from a metagaming standpoint, because she is one of my favorite characters in any video game.
“The nomads of the plains do not abandon their fellow tribespeople. Eliwood and Hector are my dear friends… Their sorrow is my sorrow. Their anger is my anger.” - Lyndis in Chapter 31E/33H, Light
Then the world opens up to Eliwood’s story, the game begins a proper progression into an extensive and oftentimes challenging strategy game. Eliwood is a comparatively tame and even boring choice of protagonist compared to Lyn, sort of the picturesque shonen hero that we associate with earlier Fire Emblem. He even has the big sword to boot. Yet as the world opens up and we meet the cast, learn of the surrounding nations and their inhabitants, his story arc still maintains high quality. Eliwood mode, for better or worse, is the way we are introduced to the meat and potatoes of the game. You fight your way through sprawling maps with scores of enemy units, conveying a desperate struggle as the flames of war engulf the surrounding landscape. The political intrigue and stories of love, loss and betrayal convey great emotional weight; they serve as amazing backdrops to particularly difficult maps. The game oozes despair as armies of unfeeling humanoid killers descend on Prince Zephiel in the dead of night, or when Ostia lays under siege. The constant threat of the mercenary group The Black Fang, whom have sentenced you to death “softly, with grace.”
“In the name of the Fang, I sentence you to death. Do not blame me for your fate. It is your own doing.” - Lloyd Reed, in Chapter 23E/24H: Four-Fanged Offense
Of course the real star of the show is the game’s third protagonist, Hector, he of the blue-haired and brash Fire Emblem family. Hector Mode is considered Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade’s greatest triumph- specifically “Hector Hard Mode” (HHM) which is considerably more difficult than any of the other game modes. Hector was the proto-Ike, a gigantic presence on and off the battlefield. He feels much more magnetic than Eliwood, but their brotherhood is what serves as one of the best parts of the game’s narrative. Hector essentially abandons his post as a royal to help his friend and must deal with the consequences and his own regrets. Eliwood’s story is fully complemented and two’s stories intertwine in perfect harmony as both come to terms with the realities of the war. Hector’s path also opens up several different maps, all quite difficult; and also serves as the basis for unlocking all the hidden lore within the game. Once you have experience HHM, you really have experienced the full breadth of what this game can offer- it is an immensely satisfying and well balanced experience with a great trio of protagonists.
“Listen, Mark. You know how Eliwood is. Never wants to burden anyone else… Takes all responsibility on himself… Now, more than ever, we have to support him. Let’s go, Mark!” - Hector in Chapter 28E, Valorous Roland
Much of what we understand as the modern conception of the "SRPG" is owed to Kaga's production of Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light; which on its own was produced to be a more accessible, character-driven answer to strategy games prior. Indeed, Fire Emblem throughout the years has relied on rather simple calculations for its different gameplay functions. Take the calculation in Blazing Blade for Attack Speed (which determines if you will attack twice during the fight, referred to a "doubling"):
AS = (Speed) - (Burden)
Burden = (Wt) - (Con); negative Burden values are set to 0
Wt = value of unit's equipped weapon's weight
Con = value of the given unit's constitution.
The calculation for whether or not you can "double" is as follows:
[(Unit's attack speed) − (target's attack speed)] ≥ 4
This is something that can very easily be calculated in a couple minutes just looking at a unit's stat spread and their weapon stats. Everything is simple to understand. You can tell just from looking at the Mani Katti weapon that is effective against infantry. What does that mean in the context of the game? It simply deals bonus damage; calculated as 3x the amount of damage you do (which has its own calculation.)
The best part? You don't even need to know this math in FE7. If you can double, it gives you a x2 indicator next to the might, which is calculated for you. Effective weapons will have glowing text. The weapon triangle is a relatively simple Rock Paper Scissors mechanic as well. This sort of simplicity is what makes the game’s combat intuitive for me to play even back in 2003. It has a high skill ceiling yet isn’t obtuse. The ultimate accessible strategy RPG, a direct descendant of the forefather of the genre itself.
Throughout the development of the series, Kaga noted that some people found the games too simple on a mechanical level; to this, he responded that "Well, that is an understandable response from the perspective of hardcore strategy buffs... [b]ut for Nintendo-made products, the baseline for the development is always that it be easy to play to the end, something “anyone can pick up and enjoy.” And I think that is a perfectly fine approach in its own right." Hironobu Sakaguchi, who had the very same design philosophy for Final Fantasy, would agree; and he was in fact a fan of the series himself.
I have great reverence for Final Fantasy Tactics and I think it is one of the greatest contributions to the entire corpus of strategy games. Just from playing the first few maps of Tactics I understood implicitly that this game had depth far and beyond anything produced during the SNES or GBA era of Fire Emblems. Tactics pushed the boundaries of the genre, both from a mechanical and storytelling perspective and I love the game. Yet I wouldn't recommend Tactics as an introduction to the genre to most people. Sure, it popularized the genre to people who didn't know anything about strategy RPGs prior, but I think Blazing Blade is in fact the real perfect introduction to the genre and works as a gateway into the wider world of the genre- which includes Final Fantasy Tactics in its unfiltered glory.
The units in Tactics are for the most part faceless generics, whom allow you complete freedom in how you shape you army. By contrast, every playable unit in Fire Emblem 7 has a face, a story and a unique role with stats to complement. These approaches both have merit. I love the generic soldier concept, especially in games without permadeath systems like the fantastic Fell Seal: Arbiter’s Mark. We have Final Fantasy Tactics to thank for that.
The strength of Blazing Blade's approach sacrifices individual unit freedom for the prospect of forming emotional bonds with the characters, whom have established backstories and personalities. I always enjoyed Serra’s love-hate relationship with Erk, even if both units were weaker and harder to train. I felt a strong connection to them as characters and had a vested interest in raising them within the army. As a kid, I simply wouldn't have been able to fully appreciate the gameplay freedom inherent in FFT’s generics in comparison versus the strong personalities of Erk and Serra. I certainly would not have felt as compelled to reset a map to save a generic, faceless unit if there was a permadeath mechanic.
The approach towards unit death in strategy games has always been traditionally one of the numbers game, especially in games that try to hew closer to realism. Julian Gollop taught the world with XCOM: UFO Defense that overconfidence invites disaster and we must learn to manage our losses- not everyone is going to make it out ok and sometimes your best soldiers have to be sacrificed to make it through the mission. Real-time strategy games are so often about throwing hordes at one another, because that is truly what war is.
Kaga took this approach with the initial games in the series because he "wanted to create a game where the player could get more emotionally invested in what’s happening." He wanted a refutation of the numbers game, and this is often highlighted by each character’s individual death quote if they are slain in battle. Any Fire Emblem player can tell you stories of the permadeath system and the psychological impetus it puts on your actions in this game. I remember running through Four-Fanged Offense in my first playthrough as a kid. Doing everything right, and I understood implicitly I had put in serious progress for my overall army's strength. All of that... just to lose my underleveled Guy to a terrifying guerilla attack from the boss. I was in tears of frustration. Then I reset the game and did it all again. I did that despite the fact I didn't even need Guy to continue on through the game. I did it because I was invested and I wanted him to be stronger and see it through to the end. I could've continued, replaced him in the army. But that wouldn't be Guy in my army. I couldn't just replace him with a identical, perhaps even stronger generic unit. He would be lost forever, and dead from a narrative standpoint. Lost as a casualty of war while the other characters pushed through to victory. I couldn't deal with that. This is something Fire Emblem really became famous for among gaming circles.
Permadeath is so contentious that the series itself changes its attitude towards it as it attempted to garner more mass appeal. Permadeath in the later entries like Three Houses is now locked behind “Classic” modes while consequences are far lighter in casual or normal gameplay difficulties. That feels like a poignant descriptor. The specter of permadeath and its affect on your gameplay is just quintessential Fire Emblem to me. There isn’t a better word to describe the experience of Fire Emblem 7 than “classic.”
"[Interviewer:] There is a scene where an important character dies along the way. What was the reason behind including this death scene?
[Tohru Narihiro:] This is a recurring theme throughout the series. The game is one with fighting, but is not just about fighting. The underlying theme of the series that we want people to feel is the foolishness and fickle nature of war and battle. This has been the continuous theme of the series."
Simply put, I don't think I would have been able to appreciate Final Fantasy Tactics as that kid back in 2003, and possibly not have forged the same relationship with strategy games (and games in general) as I did with Blazing Blade. I don't think that lessens Tactic’s impact as a seminal piece of art. I think it just speaks to why my connection to Fire Emblem 7 feels more significant.
Playing as an adult, the game hasn’t remotely lost its luster to me. I don’t even view this as a product of nostalgia- Fire Emblem 7 stands proud among its compatriots with a well designed ratio of difficulty, strong characterization, implicit depth, intuitive game design, and player expression. You can take the road of ruthless efficiency, sacrifice units if you have to, and achieve your low turn count mastery of the game. You can raise your favorite units and see them through to the end. You can do a little of both. The game is amazing regardless.
I love Fire Emblem, I love strategy RPGs and I have this game to thank for that.
To say that I am actually insane about this franchise is an understatement. When I heard about this game being added to NSO I actually finished the whole thing in 3 days after it dropped because I was having so much fun. At the time of this review I still haven't started Hector mode, only finished Eliwood mode.
I do have to admit my opinion on this game has gone down quite a bit since my original playthrough, but there's still a lot I have to like about it. The characters are still great, (most of) the maps are fun, and it's as speedy to play as ever. The game also just looks fantastic on a switch screen, especially with the "classic" filter you can toggle. The pure fun of replay value from a Fire Emblem game was showcased for me here, as this time I decided to train Rebecca, a low tier unit, into one of my strongest characters who was capable of killing MULTIPLE endgame bosses, it was actually so fun. She literally even outpaced Louise, it was SO hilarious.
FE7 is still a fun time, even if weaker than many of the other games in the series I've played. If you have NSO I find really no reason to not at least try this. Even if you DON'T have NSO, GBA emulation is so accessible on so many devices that it's really no problem in getting to try it yourself. It's beginner friendly, its fun, and it's a bit overhated these days despite of what it does so great.
I do have to admit my opinion on this game has gone down quite a bit since my original playthrough, but there's still a lot I have to like about it. The characters are still great, (most of) the maps are fun, and it's as speedy to play as ever. The game also just looks fantastic on a switch screen, especially with the "classic" filter you can toggle. The pure fun of replay value from a Fire Emblem game was showcased for me here, as this time I decided to train Rebecca, a low tier unit, into one of my strongest characters who was capable of killing MULTIPLE endgame bosses, it was actually so fun. She literally even outpaced Louise, it was SO hilarious.
FE7 is still a fun time, even if weaker than many of the other games in the series I've played. If you have NSO I find really no reason to not at least try this. Even if you DON'T have NSO, GBA emulation is so accessible on so many devices that it's really no problem in getting to try it yourself. It's beginner friendly, its fun, and it's a bit overhated these days despite of what it does so great.
did a HHM playthrough for old time's sake, forgot how much love i had for this game on so many levels. think this is going to usurp 9 as my favorite in the series once again. i love the main trio and the supporting cast is diverse enough to catch a wide array of viewpoints and backgrounds in ways that i think later FE games lost. i don't even like 6 but i adore how it gives this game such a tragic feeling. all this triumph and overcoming of the odds just for, well, most of the characters to be dead or missing (read: probably dead) by the next chronological entry. what can i say, i love a sad ending.
my least favorite genre of human being is "reddit tryhard who talks about how 7 is overrated". shut up nerd, there's a reason people still talk about this game two decades later.
my least favorite genre of human being is "reddit tryhard who talks about how 7 is overrated". shut up nerd, there's a reason people still talk about this game two decades later.
This review contains spoilers
both times i've played this game, my combat decisions allowed me to form really cool narrative headcanons. as i've just beat my second run, i'd like to share those with you :)
first run:
(for context, florina had a support with fiora and b with lyn. she died in the prologue and then came back in eliwood's story. she dealt the final blow on nergal)
florina is a child fighting in a war to save the world. in support conversations with lyn, it is revealed that she has been a pegasus knight since she was a little girl. even during this war, she can't be more than a teenager. and this shows in her character. a support conversation with lyn reveals that they met when she was scared off her pegasus by a swarm of bees. she is a self-described "crybaby." her relationships with both lyn and her sister fiora have more mother-daughter vibes to them than that of equals, siblings, or friends. she relies heavily on these two, and they fill the rolls exceptionally.
however, florina's over-reliance on lyn to survive backfired; because, naturally, lyn can only fight so many battles at once. and when her head was turned, florina was gravely injured in the prologue. she was left unable to fight, and had to abandon lyn's journey to save her father while she healed.
much time passed. florina's injuries healed. but lyn's resolve to protect florina grew even stronger. she became very worried about florina's well being.
"Are you well? ... I was worried... Don't go out alone if you can. You never know where archers might be lurking. Are you carrying enough healing salve? Your weapons—are they all in order? ... Take your time. I'm here should anything happen."
florina's injuries seemed to even further infantilize her in lyn's eyes. and when fiora joined the party, it became clear that their relationship was just as codependent.
throughout early support conversations, it is clear that fiora wants florina by her side in ilia. two traveling mercenary sisters. and this, much like lyn's motherliness, is based much more in her desire to protect her sister. "Then I’ll be able to help you anytime you need it. I would feel much better that way."
both of these relationships, while well-meaning, weigh heavily on florina. she doesn't want to need to be protected. she wants to be the one doing the protecting. she takes her training seriously. she takes on enemies that earlier would have been nightmares for her. and all this time, she thinks on these invitations - to work with her sister, to travel with her friend. and neither of them sit quite right.
so, towards the end of the journey, she sits fiora down. and she explains to her:
"Well, you see. I really love you, Fiora. And it would be great to be with you, to have you to protect me always... But... But... That wouldn’t be good for me... You’re so kind, you would probably protect me for the rest of my life... That’s the problem... If I rely on you forever, I’ll never become my own person. So...I’ve decided not to return to Ilia yet. It’s because I do love you... You see, I don’t want to always be the crybaby Florina who needs you to protect her... I want to be more like my sister, a fine pegasus knight."
and she keeps training. and she keeps improving. and in the final confrontation, standing beside lyn and fiora this time as equals, she knows she made the right choice.
second run:
(this one's a lot less involved. though it is still fresh as i just finished it today, so i will probably develop on it as time goes on. not much context here. all you need to know is that heath romanced priscilla and died in the final battle against the dragon)
"I'm a soldier, but... I'm trying to be human, too."
heath is similar in a lot of ways to eliwood. his sense of justice is clear from the very first conversation he has. he seeks to do good above all else. what becomes evident later is his equally undying sense of honor. the interesting thing about this is, where these traits in eliwood are beloved by all, these traits in heath are the main source of his conflict. and ultimately, these attributes are what make me view his story as one of extreme sacrifice.
see, heath is born in bern, a country with a corrupt ruler. this ruler demanded he slaughter unarmed people thought to be behind an uprising. and when he refused to do so, he was labeled a traitor and sentenced to death. he was forced to flee the country he loves for refusing to murder innocent people.
knowing this backstory, reading through his support conversations with priscilla show us a massive contrast in tone that i really appreciate.
heath is immediately very open, informal and friendly with priscilla. "You! You our medic? ... Name’s Heath. I’m a wyvern knight, as you can see. My wyvern is Hyperion. He may look scary, but he’s all right. I trust you’ll be there if any of us get hurt." he wastes no time in treating her like a true friend. he wastes no time with formalities. he is in touch with people's feelings, humanizing his wyvern with a name to priscilla to dissuade any potential fear the animal might bring her.
this relationship is immediately refreshing to priscilla too. considering that priscilla is a princess hiding as a commoner, it is interesting that heath is the only one to talk so informally to her. there's immediately a really warm feeling between the two.
this relationship grows even more friendly as the two begin to rely on each other in their own ways. where she was at first timid around him, she opens up. she initiates their b support by asking if he's injured. she learns more of heath's upbringing, how his military captain used to say "If you can feel the pain, you’re not badly wounded.” She makes him promise to visit her, "even if [his] wounds are slight."
and then, sometime between b and a supports, he learns of her royalty...
priscilla, now very open with heath, immediately notices something is off. he is avoiding her. she begins to talk to him about it, but the openness in the conversation is gone now. he responds slowly and vaguely. in his head, he is retroactively trying to "correct" his behavior toward her. he apologizes for having "spoken too frankly." and it is everything priscilla feared would happen.
because, again, heath is a very honorable person. and, even if he acted out of justice, refusing to kill innocents, the country he loves views him as a criminal. and criminals aren't supposed to talk to princesses.
in the final battle against nergal, heath is going to sacrifice himself. heath will always choose to sacrifice everything to do good. he did it in bern, and he will do it again to save priscilla and all the friends he's made. in death, he tells himself, he will find redemption. "I fought with honor... I can ask nothing more..."
but for the moment, he is face to face with a now crying priscilla, realizing all at once that their relationship will never be the same again.
" Priscilla... I... can call you that, can’t I? If it’s so much that you are moved to tears, I will stay by your side. Even...for just this battle... I’ll be here."
"Heath... If only... If only... time... could stop."
"... Yes... If only..."
---
i would not call the story of the blazing blade good. i doubt anyone plays the game for its plot, myself included. both of these stories, while backed up from support dialogue in the game, were made into what they were through the actions i made in combat. these characters do not have any lines pertaining to the main story of this game.
and yet, this game allowed me to make these stories. i will always remember florina and heath and priscilla. i'll always remember my sweet sweet rath who i didn't even get to talk about, and the sweet, healing romance he and lyn shared in my game. i will always remember eliwood and hector, and the sad gay forbidden love story i made about them in my head ("You know, back then, I’m proud I took your hand." "Heh, I’ve got no plans to break my oath. Not now, not ever").
it is so cool how people personalize the stories they consume. how we're able to relate to them in a way the writers never intended us to.
i am really thankful to have art in my life
first run:
(for context, florina had a support with fiora and b with lyn. she died in the prologue and then came back in eliwood's story. she dealt the final blow on nergal)
florina is a child fighting in a war to save the world. in support conversations with lyn, it is revealed that she has been a pegasus knight since she was a little girl. even during this war, she can't be more than a teenager. and this shows in her character. a support conversation with lyn reveals that they met when she was scared off her pegasus by a swarm of bees. she is a self-described "crybaby." her relationships with both lyn and her sister fiora have more mother-daughter vibes to them than that of equals, siblings, or friends. she relies heavily on these two, and they fill the rolls exceptionally.
however, florina's over-reliance on lyn to survive backfired; because, naturally, lyn can only fight so many battles at once. and when her head was turned, florina was gravely injured in the prologue. she was left unable to fight, and had to abandon lyn's journey to save her father while she healed.
much time passed. florina's injuries healed. but lyn's resolve to protect florina grew even stronger. she became very worried about florina's well being.
"Are you well? ... I was worried... Don't go out alone if you can. You never know where archers might be lurking. Are you carrying enough healing salve? Your weapons—are they all in order? ... Take your time. I'm here should anything happen."
florina's injuries seemed to even further infantilize her in lyn's eyes. and when fiora joined the party, it became clear that their relationship was just as codependent.
throughout early support conversations, it is clear that fiora wants florina by her side in ilia. two traveling mercenary sisters. and this, much like lyn's motherliness, is based much more in her desire to protect her sister. "Then I’ll be able to help you anytime you need it. I would feel much better that way."
both of these relationships, while well-meaning, weigh heavily on florina. she doesn't want to need to be protected. she wants to be the one doing the protecting. she takes her training seriously. she takes on enemies that earlier would have been nightmares for her. and all this time, she thinks on these invitations - to work with her sister, to travel with her friend. and neither of them sit quite right.
so, towards the end of the journey, she sits fiora down. and she explains to her:
"Well, you see. I really love you, Fiora. And it would be great to be with you, to have you to protect me always... But... But... That wouldn’t be good for me... You’re so kind, you would probably protect me for the rest of my life... That’s the problem... If I rely on you forever, I’ll never become my own person. So...I’ve decided not to return to Ilia yet. It’s because I do love you... You see, I don’t want to always be the crybaby Florina who needs you to protect her... I want to be more like my sister, a fine pegasus knight."
and she keeps training. and she keeps improving. and in the final confrontation, standing beside lyn and fiora this time as equals, she knows she made the right choice.
second run:
(this one's a lot less involved. though it is still fresh as i just finished it today, so i will probably develop on it as time goes on. not much context here. all you need to know is that heath romanced priscilla and died in the final battle against the dragon)
"I'm a soldier, but... I'm trying to be human, too."
heath is similar in a lot of ways to eliwood. his sense of justice is clear from the very first conversation he has. he seeks to do good above all else. what becomes evident later is his equally undying sense of honor. the interesting thing about this is, where these traits in eliwood are beloved by all, these traits in heath are the main source of his conflict. and ultimately, these attributes are what make me view his story as one of extreme sacrifice.
see, heath is born in bern, a country with a corrupt ruler. this ruler demanded he slaughter unarmed people thought to be behind an uprising. and when he refused to do so, he was labeled a traitor and sentenced to death. he was forced to flee the country he loves for refusing to murder innocent people.
knowing this backstory, reading through his support conversations with priscilla show us a massive contrast in tone that i really appreciate.
heath is immediately very open, informal and friendly with priscilla. "You! You our medic? ... Name’s Heath. I’m a wyvern knight, as you can see. My wyvern is Hyperion. He may look scary, but he’s all right. I trust you’ll be there if any of us get hurt." he wastes no time in treating her like a true friend. he wastes no time with formalities. he is in touch with people's feelings, humanizing his wyvern with a name to priscilla to dissuade any potential fear the animal might bring her.
this relationship is immediately refreshing to priscilla too. considering that priscilla is a princess hiding as a commoner, it is interesting that heath is the only one to talk so informally to her. there's immediately a really warm feeling between the two.
this relationship grows even more friendly as the two begin to rely on each other in their own ways. where she was at first timid around him, she opens up. she initiates their b support by asking if he's injured. she learns more of heath's upbringing, how his military captain used to say "If you can feel the pain, you’re not badly wounded.” She makes him promise to visit her, "even if [his] wounds are slight."
and then, sometime between b and a supports, he learns of her royalty...
priscilla, now very open with heath, immediately notices something is off. he is avoiding her. she begins to talk to him about it, but the openness in the conversation is gone now. he responds slowly and vaguely. in his head, he is retroactively trying to "correct" his behavior toward her. he apologizes for having "spoken too frankly." and it is everything priscilla feared would happen.
because, again, heath is a very honorable person. and, even if he acted out of justice, refusing to kill innocents, the country he loves views him as a criminal. and criminals aren't supposed to talk to princesses.
in the final battle against nergal, heath is going to sacrifice himself. heath will always choose to sacrifice everything to do good. he did it in bern, and he will do it again to save priscilla and all the friends he's made. in death, he tells himself, he will find redemption. "I fought with honor... I can ask nothing more..."
but for the moment, he is face to face with a now crying priscilla, realizing all at once that their relationship will never be the same again.
" Priscilla... I... can call you that, can’t I? If it’s so much that you are moved to tears, I will stay by your side. Even...for just this battle... I’ll be here."
"Heath... If only... If only... time... could stop."
"... Yes... If only..."
---
i would not call the story of the blazing blade good. i doubt anyone plays the game for its plot, myself included. both of these stories, while backed up from support dialogue in the game, were made into what they were through the actions i made in combat. these characters do not have any lines pertaining to the main story of this game.
and yet, this game allowed me to make these stories. i will always remember florina and heath and priscilla. i'll always remember my sweet sweet rath who i didn't even get to talk about, and the sweet, healing romance he and lyn shared in my game. i will always remember eliwood and hector, and the sad gay forbidden love story i made about them in my head ("You know, back then, I’m proud I took your hand." "Heh, I’ve got no plans to break my oath. Not now, not ever").
it is so cool how people personalize the stories they consume. how we're able to relate to them in a way the writers never intended us to.
i am really thankful to have art in my life
Narratives are finicky things. They're so inherently personal, so reliant on one's own experiences. There's no real way to ensure that a narrative will resonate with everyone, nor should you even try - the individuality of each narrative is what makes each one special. However, that doesn't stop us from trying to quantify them, even for the worse.
When I was a young child, I thought that the longer the narrative was, the better. Clearly, I would think, more content meant more fleshing out of ideas, more meaning. My favorite game of all time was Super Paper Mario mainly due to the fact that it had the most convoluted narrative I had played up until that point. The only thing that broke me out of this idea was when I read Naruto and realized that that was pretty terrible. For a long time though, I held that length equaled depth.
Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade is much a game that appeals to that sensibility. At every natural narrative conclusion, the game finds a way to artificially extend itself and retain relevancy. When the main villain dies and suddenly there's another villain behind him that adds another ten or so hours of gameplay, it feels a lot like a television series trying to keep itself running after the story loses steam just for the sake of profit. There's an absolutely bloated number of vestigial characters who only exist in case you've had your units dying (which in and of itself is a mechanic that Fire Emblem refuses to do anything interesting with on a narrative level.) It's rather silly - by the end of the game, you kind of forget what you were doing in the first place. This game jumps from unrelated narrative thread to unrelated narrative thread at an astonishing pace.
The Blazing Blade isn't the most bloated or artificially extended narrative out there. But to me, it will always represent them because it was one of my first introductions to the concept in a video game. There are so many points where this game can end but it chooses not to. There are so many characters who exist only to exist, without their existence meaning anything. Content for the sake of content.
Bigger does not always mean better.
When I was a young child, I thought that the longer the narrative was, the better. Clearly, I would think, more content meant more fleshing out of ideas, more meaning. My favorite game of all time was Super Paper Mario mainly due to the fact that it had the most convoluted narrative I had played up until that point. The only thing that broke me out of this idea was when I read Naruto and realized that that was pretty terrible. For a long time though, I held that length equaled depth.
Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade is much a game that appeals to that sensibility. At every natural narrative conclusion, the game finds a way to artificially extend itself and retain relevancy. When the main villain dies and suddenly there's another villain behind him that adds another ten or so hours of gameplay, it feels a lot like a television series trying to keep itself running after the story loses steam just for the sake of profit. There's an absolutely bloated number of vestigial characters who only exist in case you've had your units dying (which in and of itself is a mechanic that Fire Emblem refuses to do anything interesting with on a narrative level.) It's rather silly - by the end of the game, you kind of forget what you were doing in the first place. This game jumps from unrelated narrative thread to unrelated narrative thread at an astonishing pace.
The Blazing Blade isn't the most bloated or artificially extended narrative out there. But to me, it will always represent them because it was one of my first introductions to the concept in a video game. There are so many points where this game can end but it chooses not to. There are so many characters who exist only to exist, without their existence meaning anything. Content for the sake of content.
Bigger does not always mean better.
This feels like easily the most no-nonsense version of Fire Emblem as we know it today. There's no skills. The weapon triangle is there. All the basic classes we all know and love are there. Hell, there's no hub. It feels like Fire Emblem at its most basic, in a good way of course. It's good, nothing mindblowing, but good.
The first Fire Emblem to ever be localised for the West and my gosh did they hit the ground running with this one.
I decided to revisit this immediately after playing FE6 to see what kind of improvements the series made with it's 7th entry and I was surprised by how much they built off from FE6.
FE6 was Int Sys finding their feet after losing a huge influence in Kaga. You can see that with how limited the scope of the game is and how basic it feels in aspects. That game was mostly just getting something up and running on the GBA so they could build off that foundation and my gosh did they do that with FE7.
For the first time in the series we're following 3 Lords and each one has their own "mode" to play, unlocked in order when you first play the game.
Lyn mode is essentially a tutorial for all the newcomers to the series with it being the first worldwide FE. Each map introduces a mechanic and holds the players hand while they get used to everything. For newcomers this is perfect. At this point there was 7 games worth of mechanics to learn so dropping the West in blind would've been very off putting for a lot of people. I know that it's not the most fun thing to play through (though it is skippable after clearing it) but it is a very important introduction to the series.
The story itself for Lyn mode is only 10 chapters long but it's a really nice and personal story and one that I honestly have a lot of love for, so much so that I can't bring myself to skip Lyn mode on repeat playthroughs.
Her story also shows aspects improved upon over FE6. We have different map objectives return with defend and rout maps on top of seize ones. The characters are more fleshed out with a lot more personality over what we got in FE6. Kent and Sain alone are so much fun here but we also get Florina who has a nice relationship with Lyn too. There's also a new weather mechanic where rain or snow will pop up every few turns and limit units movement until it stops. It's an interesting idea but it's execution just makes a couple of turns slower and it becomes annoying. It only appears a handful of times throughout but yeah, not that fun.
The meat of the game follows in Eliwood mode which is the immediate story unlocked after beating Lyn's one. This is more of the standard FE campaign, with 20+ chapters and more in depth maps and gameplay on offer. Here we get a much more interesting narrative that is pretty ambitious for a GBA game as well as a good look at some stuff briefly spoken about in FE6 as this is a prequel. Seeing Zephiel and his abusive parents hits so much harder when you've seen what he's like in FE6.
It's a very solid affair, Eliwood himself is very much a typical FE lord but Lyn and Hector help bring an interesting dynamic and characters like Ninian and Nino play really good roles in the story. The Black Fang are also very interesting as antagonists and Sonia makes for a memorable villain (more so than Nergal himself unfortunately)
But yeah Eliwood mode is very solid and a nice step up from what came before.
After beating Eliwood mode, you unlock Hector mode which is essentially the same but from Hector's pov and more challenging. There's also a few exclusive maps and characters to help make the mode more enticing because it is a second playthrough thing.
Hector makes for a more interesting Lord character as well, so seeing his reactions and hearing more of his thoughts makes this mode a more interesting experience imo.
The cool thing about beating Eliwood mode is that you're free to pick Lyn/Eliwood/Hector mode when you start a new game which means you don't need to bother with the tutorial stuff if you don't want to.
Ultimately, I think FE7 is one of the best games in the series. It does everything it can to be the best possible FE experience on GBA, with a memorable cast and well varied map objectives as well as a decent amount of replay incentive without holding too much from those only wanting to play once
I decided to revisit this immediately after playing FE6 to see what kind of improvements the series made with it's 7th entry and I was surprised by how much they built off from FE6.
FE6 was Int Sys finding their feet after losing a huge influence in Kaga. You can see that with how limited the scope of the game is and how basic it feels in aspects. That game was mostly just getting something up and running on the GBA so they could build off that foundation and my gosh did they do that with FE7.
For the first time in the series we're following 3 Lords and each one has their own "mode" to play, unlocked in order when you first play the game.
Lyn mode is essentially a tutorial for all the newcomers to the series with it being the first worldwide FE. Each map introduces a mechanic and holds the players hand while they get used to everything. For newcomers this is perfect. At this point there was 7 games worth of mechanics to learn so dropping the West in blind would've been very off putting for a lot of people. I know that it's not the most fun thing to play through (though it is skippable after clearing it) but it is a very important introduction to the series.
The story itself for Lyn mode is only 10 chapters long but it's a really nice and personal story and one that I honestly have a lot of love for, so much so that I can't bring myself to skip Lyn mode on repeat playthroughs.
Her story also shows aspects improved upon over FE6. We have different map objectives return with defend and rout maps on top of seize ones. The characters are more fleshed out with a lot more personality over what we got in FE6. Kent and Sain alone are so much fun here but we also get Florina who has a nice relationship with Lyn too. There's also a new weather mechanic where rain or snow will pop up every few turns and limit units movement until it stops. It's an interesting idea but it's execution just makes a couple of turns slower and it becomes annoying. It only appears a handful of times throughout but yeah, not that fun.
The meat of the game follows in Eliwood mode which is the immediate story unlocked after beating Lyn's one. This is more of the standard FE campaign, with 20+ chapters and more in depth maps and gameplay on offer. Here we get a much more interesting narrative that is pretty ambitious for a GBA game as well as a good look at some stuff briefly spoken about in FE6 as this is a prequel. Seeing Zephiel and his abusive parents hits so much harder when you've seen what he's like in FE6.
It's a very solid affair, Eliwood himself is very much a typical FE lord but Lyn and Hector help bring an interesting dynamic and characters like Ninian and Nino play really good roles in the story. The Black Fang are also very interesting as antagonists and Sonia makes for a memorable villain (more so than Nergal himself unfortunately)
But yeah Eliwood mode is very solid and a nice step up from what came before.
After beating Eliwood mode, you unlock Hector mode which is essentially the same but from Hector's pov and more challenging. There's also a few exclusive maps and characters to help make the mode more enticing because it is a second playthrough thing.
Hector makes for a more interesting Lord character as well, so seeing his reactions and hearing more of his thoughts makes this mode a more interesting experience imo.
The cool thing about beating Eliwood mode is that you're free to pick Lyn/Eliwood/Hector mode when you start a new game which means you don't need to bother with the tutorial stuff if you don't want to.
Ultimately, I think FE7 is one of the best games in the series. It does everything it can to be the best possible FE experience on GBA, with a memorable cast and well varied map objectives as well as a decent amount of replay incentive without holding too much from those only wanting to play once
a resounding "meh". i can't think of much negative or positive to say about it. generic and bland srpg
This review contains spoilers
I replayed this game for the sake of an argument and I stand corrected, Lyn mode is FINE.
Jokes aside, Blazing Blade stands as the most "fair" Fire Emblem, where difficulty doesn't lie with enemies but rather with the map design, which by the way I appreciated more this time around. The story is fine guys, it just sucks the most important aspects are locked behind support conversations (Renault comes in the second to the last chapter and his conversations are incredible) and a Hector mode only map locked behind Nils achieving lvl 7 in Lyn Mode. 70 turns of Nils playing his flute just to give some exposure to Nergal.
Still, fair game, not its fault some are better. Lowen also exists.
Jokes aside, Blazing Blade stands as the most "fair" Fire Emblem, where difficulty doesn't lie with enemies but rather with the map design, which by the way I appreciated more this time around. The story is fine guys, it just sucks the most important aspects are locked behind support conversations (Renault comes in the second to the last chapter and his conversations are incredible) and a Hector mode only map locked behind Nils achieving lvl 7 in Lyn Mode. 70 turns of Nils playing his flute just to give some exposure to Nergal.
Still, fair game, not its fault some are better. Lowen also exists.
Awful plot gameplay too easy hector hard mode fun
Hector funny
I was always a huge Fire Emblem hater despite never having played a game, because the gameplay looked boring as shit and, above all else, for the petty reason that it started getting way too much representation on Smash Bros. with all those generic anime-looking swordsmen. I never EVER imagined I would give this franchise a try, but one day I was bored on the voice chat with some friends and decided to open the GBA app on NSO to play something. Then I saw Fire Emblem there. Decided to open it just for shits and giggles, to see how boring the gameplay would be. What happened next? I kept playing for 2-3 hours.
I got HOOKED! The first campaign of the game is basically just one massive tutorial, which I know is a bit divisive among the Fire Emblem community, but for someone like me who had no idea how to play the game and how its many mechanics worked, it was very welcome and it didn’t bother me one bit. It speaks to the quality of the game that even its tutorial had me engaged!
Once the game lets go of your hand is when the real fun begins and fun I sure had. Strategizing my way across maps and enemies that kept getting increasingly more difficult as I tried to keep all my units alive was some of the most invested I got into a game in 2023. Few things felt as satisfying as landing critical hits, getting a good level up, and beating a tough enemy unit by the skin of your teeth, especially during longer skirmishes that I REALLY didn’t want to reset in case a unit died (yes, I did end up resetting quite a few times when a unit I really cared for died, but sometimes I’d just let go).
I just couldn’t put that game down. I got so invested I started reading a lot of info online about the game and its inner mechanics that aren’t properly explained due to the limitations of it being a GBA game, such as its many classes, hidden battle stats and the support system. I always kept a sheet open while playing it to see the units I should try pairing together at the end of each turn to get extra support buffs and some endearing dialogue between them. While the story is your standard medieval fare, revolving around politics and dragons, the characters are what keep you interested in it, because this game has such a charming cast. Most of them have a great dynamic, especially the main trio, Eliwood, Lyn and Hector. I actively wanted to make them support each other to see what their interactions would be about, and they’d always put a smile on my face.
That’s why the permadeath mechanic is so devastating, because you start caring so much about some characters you don’t want to see them gone forever. They’re not just disposable units anymore, they’re people you want to protect as hard as you can. That’s why it’s so satisfying to see a character you love getting great level ups and upgrading to a new class and starting wrecking every enemy on their way. That’s what happened with my favorite unit, Florina. She became a goddess of destruction, raining despair over her opponents atop her white pegasus.
And I’d be remiss to not talk about the visuals of the game. Good lord, this game might just have one of the best sprite work of any GBA game. The battle animations are always a treat to watch, ESPECIALLY the critical hits. Their over-the-top animation is smooth and dynamic and packs such a punch, along with the crunchy sound effects that accompany it. It’s so goddamn satisfying. But yeah, that’s the story of how I went from being a pathetic hater of a franchise I had never even played a game of to someone who became invested enough to want to play every single Fire Emblem game.
I got HOOKED! The first campaign of the game is basically just one massive tutorial, which I know is a bit divisive among the Fire Emblem community, but for someone like me who had no idea how to play the game and how its many mechanics worked, it was very welcome and it didn’t bother me one bit. It speaks to the quality of the game that even its tutorial had me engaged!
Once the game lets go of your hand is when the real fun begins and fun I sure had. Strategizing my way across maps and enemies that kept getting increasingly more difficult as I tried to keep all my units alive was some of the most invested I got into a game in 2023. Few things felt as satisfying as landing critical hits, getting a good level up, and beating a tough enemy unit by the skin of your teeth, especially during longer skirmishes that I REALLY didn’t want to reset in case a unit died (yes, I did end up resetting quite a few times when a unit I really cared for died, but sometimes I’d just let go).
I just couldn’t put that game down. I got so invested I started reading a lot of info online about the game and its inner mechanics that aren’t properly explained due to the limitations of it being a GBA game, such as its many classes, hidden battle stats and the support system. I always kept a sheet open while playing it to see the units I should try pairing together at the end of each turn to get extra support buffs and some endearing dialogue between them. While the story is your standard medieval fare, revolving around politics and dragons, the characters are what keep you interested in it, because this game has such a charming cast. Most of them have a great dynamic, especially the main trio, Eliwood, Lyn and Hector. I actively wanted to make them support each other to see what their interactions would be about, and they’d always put a smile on my face.
That’s why the permadeath mechanic is so devastating, because you start caring so much about some characters you don’t want to see them gone forever. They’re not just disposable units anymore, they’re people you want to protect as hard as you can. That’s why it’s so satisfying to see a character you love getting great level ups and upgrading to a new class and starting wrecking every enemy on their way. That’s what happened with my favorite unit, Florina. She became a goddess of destruction, raining despair over her opponents atop her white pegasus.
And I’d be remiss to not talk about the visuals of the game. Good lord, this game might just have one of the best sprite work of any GBA game. The battle animations are always a treat to watch, ESPECIALLY the critical hits. Their over-the-top animation is smooth and dynamic and packs such a punch, along with the crunchy sound effects that accompany it. It’s so goddamn satisfying. But yeah, that’s the story of how I went from being a pathetic hater of a franchise I had never even played a game of to someone who became invested enough to want to play every single Fire Emblem game.
FE7 devs when map design
HORRENDOUS
I've played Final Fantasy Tactics as well as a bunch of games in the Shining Force series, so I figured that this was a good time to dip my toes into the Fire Emblem franchise - a series I was tentative about getting into thanks to one particular mechanic.
Well, if you have any familiarity with the series you'll already know I'm referring to permadeath; once a unit is defeated, that's it for them - they're unusable for the rest of the game! As it turns out, I have to give Fire Emblem credit for balancing the game around this mechanic pretty well for the most part. However, there was definitely the need to make the difficulty level err on the side of 'easy'; some of my favorite moments from the Shining series and FFT were the frenetic balls-out stand-up chaotic brawls where the only hit point that mattered was the last hit point of your last unit standing. Obviously, with the spectre of permadeath perpetually looming over the game, there were no such moments to be found here. However, Fire Emblem's own brand of gameplay is very effective in its own right.
You see, permadeath is not the only scary mechanic this game has. It also has breakable weapons, limited access to shops, almost no opportunities to grind, and every map is played once which means every item and recruitable character is permanently-missable. Each of these mechanics are potentially a turn-off on their own, but combined together, they create a very compelling whole; a picture of fighting with limited resources against overwhelming odds. War is messy and ugly after all, and having to take care of your units and finances and supplies without knowing exactly what lies ahead adds a weight to your every decision that the other TRPGs I've previously played don't have. The permadeath mechanic also works quite well with the themes of this game, essentially forcing you - the player - to be the foil to the villains of this game. Where they callously use and discard comrades and family in their quest for power, you need to value and treasure each one of your limited pool of allies in order to be victorious.
My only real complaint with this game is that because every one of your decisions carries so much weight, the game drags on just a bit too long. The final act in particular is a Real Bloody Slog TM, with far too many large maps with mechanics I'd already seen before, and a sharp increase in bullshit (like a boss that can OHKO-snipe your units from behind a fog-of-war) which led to lots of resets and nearly burnt me out.
In the end, there is a lot to love about this game. Even though I personally prefer the more casual-friendly style of the Shining series, I would definitely give the other Fire Emblem games a shot soon!
Well, if you have any familiarity with the series you'll already know I'm referring to permadeath; once a unit is defeated, that's it for them - they're unusable for the rest of the game! As it turns out, I have to give Fire Emblem credit for balancing the game around this mechanic pretty well for the most part. However, there was definitely the need to make the difficulty level err on the side of 'easy'; some of my favorite moments from the Shining series and FFT were the frenetic balls-out stand-up chaotic brawls where the only hit point that mattered was the last hit point of your last unit standing. Obviously, with the spectre of permadeath perpetually looming over the game, there were no such moments to be found here. However, Fire Emblem's own brand of gameplay is very effective in its own right.
You see, permadeath is not the only scary mechanic this game has. It also has breakable weapons, limited access to shops, almost no opportunities to grind, and every map is played once which means every item and recruitable character is permanently-missable. Each of these mechanics are potentially a turn-off on their own, but combined together, they create a very compelling whole; a picture of fighting with limited resources against overwhelming odds. War is messy and ugly after all, and having to take care of your units and finances and supplies without knowing exactly what lies ahead adds a weight to your every decision that the other TRPGs I've previously played don't have. The permadeath mechanic also works quite well with the themes of this game, essentially forcing you - the player - to be the foil to the villains of this game. Where they callously use and discard comrades and family in their quest for power, you need to value and treasure each one of your limited pool of allies in order to be victorious.
My only real complaint with this game is that because every one of your decisions carries so much weight, the game drags on just a bit too long. The final act in particular is a Real Bloody Slog TM, with far too many large maps with mechanics I'd already seen before, and a sharp increase in bullshit (like a boss that can OHKO-snipe your units from behind a fog-of-war) which led to lots of resets and nearly burnt me out.
In the end, there is a lot to love about this game. Even though I personally prefer the more casual-friendly style of the Shining series, I would definitely give the other Fire Emblem games a shot soon!
Currently replaying on Hector hard mode, and I'm convinced that Mekkah making that long ass critique about how fe7's plot apparently sucks completely destroyed this game's reputation. It was always "mid" this, "mid" that afterwards, and I kinda got roped into following the fe7 hate-train hivemind. Yeah it's nowhere near as complex as Jugdral before it or Tellius after it, but it's really a neat little story about a Sacaean plainswoman reclaiming her heritage, and two longtime friends of noble status going on a journey to save one's father. There's some drama, mystery and a little tragedy, but nothing groundbreaking. It's really just Fire Emblem comfort food. There's no grand conflict, nor is the world at stake (for the most part), but I feel this is the game after FE4 that really pushed towards characters being given more time in the spotlight in FE games. Lyn's story and Lyndis' Legion again just have this level of comraderie only is really surpassed with the Greil Mercenaries. After stumbling a bit with FE6, Intelligent Systems found their footing without Shouzou Kaga to guide them, and to some, the next few games that followed would be considered on par with, and in some cases better than the previous director's best works.
This review contains spoilers
Is this the meanest Fire Emblem?? I've played 4 others, and this one seems a bit more aggressive in its dialogue. Children get called worthless offal and have parents straight up tell them they don't love them and want them dead, love interests are held dead in characters' arms, and the general prejudice and racism found in other FE games seems even more egregious here.
But! It's entirely likely that this is due to bad localization. This was the first time NOA translated a Fire Emblem title, and it is roouuuugh. It had been a while since I played through a game that felt like a fan translation. It's kind of charming though! Similar to the wonky dialogue you'd find in western releases of Japanese arcade games in the 80s, there were multiple times when I laughed out loud at the goofy text. The story itself is fine, it's just put into words poorly. So who knows, maybe the original Japanese isn't quite this barbaric!
Mechanics-wise, it's a standard Fire Emblem. Nothing really stands out here. I liked it enough to finish it, but likely won't come back for a second go round.
But! It's entirely likely that this is due to bad localization. This was the first time NOA translated a Fire Emblem title, and it is roouuuugh. It had been a while since I played through a game that felt like a fan translation. It's kind of charming though! Similar to the wonky dialogue you'd find in western releases of Japanese arcade games in the 80s, there were multiple times when I laughed out loud at the goofy text. The story itself is fine, it's just put into words poorly. So who knows, maybe the original Japanese isn't quite this barbaric!
Mechanics-wise, it's a standard Fire Emblem. Nothing really stands out here. I liked it enough to finish it, but likely won't come back for a second go round.
If I were Eliwood I would simply not kill the weird ice dragon that appears out of nowhere
After Fire Emblem: Three Houses I was left craving more of that TRPG goodness so I went back to the game many consider to be the quintessential (heh) Fire Emblem™ experience.
It sure is a classic. A fair bit simplistic but great nonetheless. The story is tropey as heck, full of gallant, honourable knights and evil wizards who want to take over the world, but it does a good enough job to give each battle context. On the gameplay front I can't say I have any real complaints, besides, it's been too long since I've played SoV and Three Houses is too different to make and real comparisons. The only thing that I'm really pissed about is how the support system in GBA games works. I don't want my character interactions to be gated by parking my units for turns upon turns on every sieze map. I've made my piece with it as I start Sacred Stones and from what I understand it doesn't get worse than this.
P.S RIP Dorcas, my strongest silliest goober. Died at a hand of a certain horse-riding witch right at the end of the game. Damn you, 6% crits.
It sure is a classic. A fair bit simplistic but great nonetheless. The story is tropey as heck, full of gallant, honourable knights and evil wizards who want to take over the world, but it does a good enough job to give each battle context. On the gameplay front I can't say I have any real complaints, besides, it's been too long since I've played SoV and Three Houses is too different to make and real comparisons. The only thing that I'm really pissed about is how the support system in GBA games works. I don't want my character interactions to be gated by parking my units for turns upon turns on every sieze map. I've made my piece with it as I start Sacred Stones and from what I understand it doesn't get worse than this.
P.S RIP Dorcas, my strongest silliest goober. Died at a hand of a certain horse-riding witch right at the end of the game. Damn you, 6% crits.
i've owned and adored this game for years, but i had never bothered with the ranking system. in the past, i had always regarded it as a largely irrelevant feature to how i wanted to play and basically ignored it. however, something crawled up my ass last year, and i decided to do a ranked run of HHM. as preparation, i did a ranked run of HNM to get an idea of what it would be like and how to adopt the mindset. and while some things are actually more strict in HNM ranked (for whatever reason, night of farewells has a way tighter turn count), it was an educational experience that steeled me for my real goal: S rank HHM.
i now talk to you as someone who has scaled the mountain that is S ranking HHM. after several months of meticulous planning and arduous resetting, i got my S rank. and while it was extremely shitty to do for a myriad of reasons, this experience has not only deepened my appreciation of the game, but it has reminded me of how constraints make for better design. let's be clear, FE7's ranking system is fucked and its refusal to be transparent with not only its set goals but also how to achieve them is bad. i do not think this game does ranking very well (chapter requirements are literally being broken on hector mode chapters like talons alight and the berserker such that they're considered chapters you should beat in 0 turns to avoid penalization). add all this together, and i understand why casuals are so offput by it.
but, i do mourn it retroactively now, as i think we lost something significant when IS decided to ditch it instead of improve and refine it. ranked runs require a different mindset and encourage you to think of the game as purely tactical as you can. turtle and grind strategies suddenly become inoptimal and the last thing you want to do. meanwhile, the experience rank obligates you to use units that you would otherwise almost certainly have not touched, forcing you to use basically everyone in at least some capacity. the strangest thing is that they already revamped how the game would judge the player via a ranking system in going from 6 to 7, so it adds on to the disappointment that they abandoned it in sacred stones. hell, sacred stones could've been like 20x better if there was anything resembling a challenge in it. the closest thing we've gotten since then was the bonus experience system in the tellius games, and while that is good, something all-encompassing like elibe's rankings is preferable to me. i've realized that i'm a huge sucker for when a game assesses and grades your progress, whether it be on micro scales like in MMBN and FFXIII, or on a playthrough-wide scale like Resident Evil and this game. it was a flawed system and needed polish, but, fuck, i kinda miss it now.
that said, i love this game, but, i confess, this ranked run did inspire great amounts of anger and hate out of me. on top of S ranking HHM being one of the hardest things i've ever had to do in a video game, i think i can confidently say that fire emblem is one of the most infuriating games on earth. with how pivotal RNG is to not only character progression but even just basic offensive interactions, it is the perfect simulator of "i made no mistakes and still lost" in video game format. i get that RNG is invariably going to affect personal experience in both extremely positive and extremely negative ways, i just deeply wish there was some way to curb it a bit. for instance, all three of my lords were complete dogshit this run, and i had to use boosters on all three at some point just to get them to their average stats. granted, you don't have to use lyn and eliwood, but see me after class if you think i'm doing lloyd's FFO. plus, they're mandatory deployments on certain chapters (including but not limited to the final one), so it's frustrating when diceroll level ups turn against your favor and give you completely trash units. it's still a wonder to me that a fixed stats mode was only ever used in path of radiance and it's never been used ever again. it's truly baffling considering how convenient and consistent it would make replays of any of the games. in that sense, the most appealing method of ever playing this game again is on emulator with tony's mod, a player-made fixed stats mode.
either way, this is still one of my favorite games of all time, in spite of the colossal deep fissures of flaws i have with fire emblem as a series and even this individual game (seriously, why doesn't eliwood use lances?). i can rest easy now and say it's going to be a looooooong time before i do another playthrough of this beast. yet, tellingly, when i do get that urge, i've already got a plan of what i want to do next. imagine if i used these autistic impulses to do something of value. what if.
i now talk to you as someone who has scaled the mountain that is S ranking HHM. after several months of meticulous planning and arduous resetting, i got my S rank. and while it was extremely shitty to do for a myriad of reasons, this experience has not only deepened my appreciation of the game, but it has reminded me of how constraints make for better design. let's be clear, FE7's ranking system is fucked and its refusal to be transparent with not only its set goals but also how to achieve them is bad. i do not think this game does ranking very well (chapter requirements are literally being broken on hector mode chapters like talons alight and the berserker such that they're considered chapters you should beat in 0 turns to avoid penalization). add all this together, and i understand why casuals are so offput by it.
but, i do mourn it retroactively now, as i think we lost something significant when IS decided to ditch it instead of improve and refine it. ranked runs require a different mindset and encourage you to think of the game as purely tactical as you can. turtle and grind strategies suddenly become inoptimal and the last thing you want to do. meanwhile, the experience rank obligates you to use units that you would otherwise almost certainly have not touched, forcing you to use basically everyone in at least some capacity. the strangest thing is that they already revamped how the game would judge the player via a ranking system in going from 6 to 7, so it adds on to the disappointment that they abandoned it in sacred stones. hell, sacred stones could've been like 20x better if there was anything resembling a challenge in it. the closest thing we've gotten since then was the bonus experience system in the tellius games, and while that is good, something all-encompassing like elibe's rankings is preferable to me. i've realized that i'm a huge sucker for when a game assesses and grades your progress, whether it be on micro scales like in MMBN and FFXIII, or on a playthrough-wide scale like Resident Evil and this game. it was a flawed system and needed polish, but, fuck, i kinda miss it now.
that said, i love this game, but, i confess, this ranked run did inspire great amounts of anger and hate out of me. on top of S ranking HHM being one of the hardest things i've ever had to do in a video game, i think i can confidently say that fire emblem is one of the most infuriating games on earth. with how pivotal RNG is to not only character progression but even just basic offensive interactions, it is the perfect simulator of "i made no mistakes and still lost" in video game format. i get that RNG is invariably going to affect personal experience in both extremely positive and extremely negative ways, i just deeply wish there was some way to curb it a bit. for instance, all three of my lords were complete dogshit this run, and i had to use boosters on all three at some point just to get them to their average stats. granted, you don't have to use lyn and eliwood, but see me after class if you think i'm doing lloyd's FFO. plus, they're mandatory deployments on certain chapters (including but not limited to the final one), so it's frustrating when diceroll level ups turn against your favor and give you completely trash units. it's still a wonder to me that a fixed stats mode was only ever used in path of radiance and it's never been used ever again. it's truly baffling considering how convenient and consistent it would make replays of any of the games. in that sense, the most appealing method of ever playing this game again is on emulator with tony's mod, a player-made fixed stats mode.
either way, this is still one of my favorite games of all time, in spite of the colossal deep fissures of flaws i have with fire emblem as a series and even this individual game (seriously, why doesn't eliwood use lances?). i can rest easy now and say it's going to be a looooooong time before i do another playthrough of this beast. yet, tellingly, when i do get that urge, i've already got a plan of what i want to do next. imagine if i used these autistic impulses to do something of value. what if.
I don't really have that much interesting to say about this one to be honest so I'll just dump my thoughts lol. It's not really surprising to me that the gameplay wasn't as interesting to me as it was in Thracia though it's perfectly fine still. I probably enjoyed all of the unit variety the most, though it was a real shame that there weren't that many early units that were fun to build up over time. A lot of my army ended up being the endgame pre-promotes they hand you which is fine but not super interesting. I actually think this game is a bit more difficult than people give it credit for but I think the way it does gamefeel makes it not really matter. Handing you OP pre-promotes is a good example of this effect, since it doesn't really feel earned at all, and also the way they start shoving good weapons and items on you towards the end. I guess it doesn't help that 2 of the 3 lords aren't good units either.
I also thought this game was fine story-wise but pretty dumb. Like the gameplay, there was nothing I particularly hated but nothing I was a big fan of either. Hate to make another comparison but going from the Jugdral games to this felt like a pretty noticeable step down. Like a large portion of the story being dedicated to this generic magical essence just gets really old fast, and they add some really funny story diversions to try and stretch out such generic ideas. At least 40% of the cutscenes in this game have to be the one note villains talking about the magical essence and how they will harvest more of it and it's just like... goddamn I get it lol. The best part of the story is probably just Hector. Hector is awesome.
Anyways the more I write this the more I think I might not have liked this game so much but it was fine overall I guess. I spent my playthrough thinking "Yup, this is a Fire Emblem game alright. It sure does those Fire Emblem things that are neat" and that's the most praise I can give it for now.
I also thought this game was fine story-wise but pretty dumb. Like the gameplay, there was nothing I particularly hated but nothing I was a big fan of either. Hate to make another comparison but going from the Jugdral games to this felt like a pretty noticeable step down. Like a large portion of the story being dedicated to this generic magical essence just gets really old fast, and they add some really funny story diversions to try and stretch out such generic ideas. At least 40% of the cutscenes in this game have to be the one note villains talking about the magical essence and how they will harvest more of it and it's just like... goddamn I get it lol. The best part of the story is probably just Hector. Hector is awesome.
Anyways the more I write this the more I think I might not have liked this game so much but it was fine overall I guess. I spent my playthrough thinking "Yup, this is a Fire Emblem game alright. It sure does those Fire Emblem things that are neat" and that's the most praise I can give it for now.
The epilogue was the best part because it had Roy 🔥
“Oh you’ve already played the hardest games in the series and have already mastered the game’s mechanics? Fuck you. Here’s 6 hours of tutorials.”
its that time of the year when i remember fire emblem exists and i play a new installment so im gonna be real with you binding blade left me with a sour taste in my mouth and i ended up dropping the series marathon for the time being that could actually give you a clue to what i generally think about fe6 without reading my review
since i actually am a madman and actually wanted to explore some more of the gba titles i ended up booting blazing blade and while it could be argued that this is by no means a masterpiece in the series (ive only played a few games so i cant really say much about this) its pretty interesting to see that they managed to fix some of the issues i had with binding blade
in the great scope of things this is a prequel to fe6 it takes place in the same land and stars most of the parents youre gonna see during your time in elibe and a new entry in the whole franchise and also ready to become the favorite girl of a lot of guys in the entire series lyn
i definitely enjoyed the characters in this one way more than the other game since they actually feel more fleshed out with some more understandable motives diving the game setting into 2 completely different campaigns where in the first one youre gonna play as fan favorite lyndis trying to save his grandfather which is actually a general tutorial to the entire game and fire emblem as a whole and the second part of the campaign stars eliwood whos the father of the other fan favorite roy from fe6 and hector whos the father of MY FAVORITE SWEET LITTLE CHILD lilina
this rooster of character is probably one of the strongest ive seen in the entire franchise till now lyn is as determined as she is brave but her story shines the light on a scarred and emotional woman who found in her independence a way to work through life
while i definitely think lyns story is the weakest one of the 2 this doesnt mean it didnt touch some high highs here and even though it just acts as a tutorial for the entire game that doesnt mean its gonna be devoid of any challenge or fun to play through and the idea of dividing the actual game into different parts made both of the stories more digestible since i usually just play one chapter of fire emblem then get stuck and replay it after like 3 months this is the usual praxis
so all in all lyns side of the story is pretty great if you ask me but the real meat of the game is eliwoods part of the story (i have no idea if hector hard mode is actually just the same story beats or an entire new storyline maybe with hectors POV because i havents played it since “hard mode” made me shit my pants as soon as i read it) and this is actually where the game stops handholding you and gets into unknown territory and a real trial to see if you actually learnt some shit from the tutorial
eliwoods tale sees him going in a search for his father but as youre gonna guess in fire emblems usual flair the plotline is gonna escalate into the whole dragon lore and shit like that but im not gonna say anything here because im not the most competent guy to actually talk about fire emblems story and in general the best stuff always comes at the end so youre advised what im gonna say though is that compared to fe6 both lyns side and this one actually have some tighter pacing and characters are usually more fleshed out than its sequels counterparts and eliwood and hector make for an intoxicatingly good pair and also as incredible lords for the entire party eliwood is more on the usual “shonen ish protagonist with a lot of empathy love for his land and people and a pacifist and charismatic leader” or some shit like that but its pretty evident that they gave him a lot more nuance compared to his son maybe also for his age and for how hot he is sorry uwu what REALLY makes it worth is though are his interactions with hector which not so different from him but definitely on the more aggressive and belligerent side of things (hot) hes more of an act first think later type of guy (hot) with some beefy arms and an axe bigger than a tree (hot) and the friendly rivalry they create (or better the homoerotic tension they create) actually steals the spotlight for any other character to actually shine i love these two with all my essence and being while i do agree that eliwood is the bestes boy hector is in the archetype of my fictional boyfriend type so im always gonna take his side and take his mmmmm i cant say this here moving on
this game continues the tradition of the other gba title to actually throw at you countless and countless playable characters so of course some of them are gonna shine above the others and it is no surprise that i fell in love at first sight with ninian and shes definitely one of the highlight of the games beside being an incredibly effective plot point throughout she has a design beaten for the gods and while she doesnt end up fucking XXX i can definitely be his husband i cook i clean i pay the taxes and watch the kids and before you say it no unfortunately i dont like nils i prefer his hot sister teehee sooooooorry yall
if you know me you know i had no other choice but love jaffar and what i was definitely not expecting is the fact that i would end up loving him not only because hes hot but also due to the fact that he has some of the thickest character development in the entire game compared to the other guys in the circus and also his relationship with nino made me absolutely tear my hair off i love those two like my own babies but unfortunately i wanted jaffar all by myself so i need nino to step right off right about NOW
you can also see that the quality of the character design actually made a huge jump because the usual green and red knight actually have some nuance to them in particular im in love with sain who acts as the usual womanizer type of guy and somehow always manage to get zero pussy in the process which makes kent even more endearing because being an asexual virgin completes the duo and makes for a great chemistry (read: theyre gay and have a lot of sex)
some other highlight are florina my sweet little baby with fear of men (shes right to do so) matthew is a conniving bitch and im gonna bet my life he makes for an endearing power bottom marcus is still a bull even in this game rebecca is ,,, CUTE ! i like her i think and raven is a damn good hunk of a man older brother type of character with a lot of meat in his part and i love those overprotective bro figure because i always wanted one im so sorry yall fiora and isadora are my lesbian mothers and i want them to walk me with a leash hawkeye has big tits heath has big hair harken has a big fucking cock no half words i can feel his might through the screen love that guy im free on saturday
so theres that also honorable mention lloyd is probably one of the hottest guy in all fire emblem i was DROOLING dont get me started
as i was saying in general this is probably the tightest narrative in the gba trilogy (havent played sacred stones i dont know if i actually want to rn because im growing tired of these games) and i can see a lot more care being put in the story and character side of things that i unfortunately didnt see when playing fe6 not that its a bad game but i can say that blazing blade pisses in his mouth ong
cant really add anything more in the art direction and music department because its basically the same as fe6 and i already praised it at that time but TLDR the sprite works and animations are probably my favorite in the entire franchise the pixelated artworks and oversaturated art style really add a lot to the general sense of style and makes for an unforgettable view the music is pretty much usual fire emblem fanfares or world themes which are by no means bad but definitely dont reach the highs or tracks found in awakening or echoes (and they dont even have to because this is neither awakening nor echoes)
if i gotta be nitpicking i also think the character portraits have something more compared to the ones in fe6 but i cant go on and hate on binding blade or else fans of the saga will come here and bust my ass open one time and for all
so what else to say if it wasnt clear enough this is my favorite one of the gba bunch till now and probably one of the favorite of some people out there maybe im playing this series wrong because after awakening and echoes everything here sucks because OF COURSE it would but im still pretty curious to see what else this series have to offer at this point i got so many different games to branch off now i dont have a clue what im gonna play next stay tuned so that you can listen to me complaining about fe6 some more and saying how much i want to fuck the characters in this series byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee have fun segues a message just for lloyd hi babe im douching my ass come over at 9 pm i will be waiting xoxo
since i actually am a madman and actually wanted to explore some more of the gba titles i ended up booting blazing blade and while it could be argued that this is by no means a masterpiece in the series (ive only played a few games so i cant really say much about this) its pretty interesting to see that they managed to fix some of the issues i had with binding blade
in the great scope of things this is a prequel to fe6 it takes place in the same land and stars most of the parents youre gonna see during your time in elibe and a new entry in the whole franchise and also ready to become the favorite girl of a lot of guys in the entire series lyn
i definitely enjoyed the characters in this one way more than the other game since they actually feel more fleshed out with some more understandable motives diving the game setting into 2 completely different campaigns where in the first one youre gonna play as fan favorite lyndis trying to save his grandfather which is actually a general tutorial to the entire game and fire emblem as a whole and the second part of the campaign stars eliwood whos the father of the other fan favorite roy from fe6 and hector whos the father of MY FAVORITE SWEET LITTLE CHILD lilina
this rooster of character is probably one of the strongest ive seen in the entire franchise till now lyn is as determined as she is brave but her story shines the light on a scarred and emotional woman who found in her independence a way to work through life
while i definitely think lyns story is the weakest one of the 2 this doesnt mean it didnt touch some high highs here and even though it just acts as a tutorial for the entire game that doesnt mean its gonna be devoid of any challenge or fun to play through and the idea of dividing the actual game into different parts made both of the stories more digestible since i usually just play one chapter of fire emblem then get stuck and replay it after like 3 months this is the usual praxis
so all in all lyns side of the story is pretty great if you ask me but the real meat of the game is eliwoods part of the story (i have no idea if hector hard mode is actually just the same story beats or an entire new storyline maybe with hectors POV because i havents played it since “hard mode” made me shit my pants as soon as i read it) and this is actually where the game stops handholding you and gets into unknown territory and a real trial to see if you actually learnt some shit from the tutorial
eliwoods tale sees him going in a search for his father but as youre gonna guess in fire emblems usual flair the plotline is gonna escalate into the whole dragon lore and shit like that but im not gonna say anything here because im not the most competent guy to actually talk about fire emblems story and in general the best stuff always comes at the end so youre advised what im gonna say though is that compared to fe6 both lyns side and this one actually have some tighter pacing and characters are usually more fleshed out than its sequels counterparts and eliwood and hector make for an intoxicatingly good pair and also as incredible lords for the entire party eliwood is more on the usual “shonen ish protagonist with a lot of empathy love for his land and people and a pacifist and charismatic leader” or some shit like that but its pretty evident that they gave him a lot more nuance compared to his son maybe also for his age and for how hot he is sorry uwu what REALLY makes it worth is though are his interactions with hector which not so different from him but definitely on the more aggressive and belligerent side of things (hot) hes more of an act first think later type of guy (hot) with some beefy arms and an axe bigger than a tree (hot) and the friendly rivalry they create (or better the homoerotic tension they create) actually steals the spotlight for any other character to actually shine i love these two with all my essence and being while i do agree that eliwood is the bestes boy hector is in the archetype of my fictional boyfriend type so im always gonna take his side and take his mmmmm i cant say this here moving on
this game continues the tradition of the other gba title to actually throw at you countless and countless playable characters so of course some of them are gonna shine above the others and it is no surprise that i fell in love at first sight with ninian and shes definitely one of the highlight of the games beside being an incredibly effective plot point throughout she has a design beaten for the gods and while she doesnt end up fucking XXX i can definitely be his husband i cook i clean i pay the taxes and watch the kids and before you say it no unfortunately i dont like nils i prefer his hot sister teehee sooooooorry yall
if you know me you know i had no other choice but love jaffar and what i was definitely not expecting is the fact that i would end up loving him not only because hes hot but also due to the fact that he has some of the thickest character development in the entire game compared to the other guys in the circus and also his relationship with nino made me absolutely tear my hair off i love those two like my own babies but unfortunately i wanted jaffar all by myself so i need nino to step right off right about NOW
you can also see that the quality of the character design actually made a huge jump because the usual green and red knight actually have some nuance to them in particular im in love with sain who acts as the usual womanizer type of guy and somehow always manage to get zero pussy in the process which makes kent even more endearing because being an asexual virgin completes the duo and makes for a great chemistry (read: theyre gay and have a lot of sex)
some other highlight are florina my sweet little baby with fear of men (shes right to do so) matthew is a conniving bitch and im gonna bet my life he makes for an endearing power bottom marcus is still a bull even in this game rebecca is ,,, CUTE ! i like her i think and raven is a damn good hunk of a man older brother type of character with a lot of meat in his part and i love those overprotective bro figure because i always wanted one im so sorry yall fiora and isadora are my lesbian mothers and i want them to walk me with a leash hawkeye has big tits heath has big hair harken has a big fucking cock no half words i can feel his might through the screen love that guy im free on saturday
so theres that also honorable mention lloyd is probably one of the hottest guy in all fire emblem i was DROOLING dont get me started
as i was saying in general this is probably the tightest narrative in the gba trilogy (havent played sacred stones i dont know if i actually want to rn because im growing tired of these games) and i can see a lot more care being put in the story and character side of things that i unfortunately didnt see when playing fe6 not that its a bad game but i can say that blazing blade pisses in his mouth ong
cant really add anything more in the art direction and music department because its basically the same as fe6 and i already praised it at that time but TLDR the sprite works and animations are probably my favorite in the entire franchise the pixelated artworks and oversaturated art style really add a lot to the general sense of style and makes for an unforgettable view the music is pretty much usual fire emblem fanfares or world themes which are by no means bad but definitely dont reach the highs or tracks found in awakening or echoes (and they dont even have to because this is neither awakening nor echoes)
if i gotta be nitpicking i also think the character portraits have something more compared to the ones in fe6 but i cant go on and hate on binding blade or else fans of the saga will come here and bust my ass open one time and for all
so what else to say if it wasnt clear enough this is my favorite one of the gba bunch till now and probably one of the favorite of some people out there maybe im playing this series wrong because after awakening and echoes everything here sucks because OF COURSE it would but im still pretty curious to see what else this series have to offer at this point i got so many different games to branch off now i dont have a clue what im gonna play next stay tuned so that you can listen to me complaining about fe6 some more and saying how much i want to fuck the characters in this series byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee have fun segues a message just for lloyd hi babe im douching my ass come over at 9 pm i will be waiting xoxo
Fun fact about this game; play it
It cannot be understated how much of an improvement this game is over its predecessor. I feel like this game became the west’s introduction to Fire Emblem and its standard for a reason—everything that made FE6 feel rough around the edges post-Kaga has been refined here to make a quintessential game for the series. If you’ve already played it, I really have to recommend playing FE6 and then replaying this to see just how much it improves.
The changes are all little, and a lot of them are very technical aspects of the mechanics (which you can see in a great breakdown here: https://www.reddit.com/r/fireemblem/comments/cck83m/sequel_talk_mechanical_changes_from_fe6_to_fe7/), but when they all come together they make the game that much better. There are maps with varied objectives; no more needing to seize every map. Classes get reworked or buffed to make them more usable in the long-term (stinks that assassins can’t steal once they’re promoted from thieves tough). Gaiden chapters are no longer gimmicky maps that you need to do to get the game’s true ending, feeling more like worthwhile but non-necessary rewards for going out of your way in the main story. And it’s not just mechanics that got changed, the storytelling of the game was tremendously improved. You don’t get thrown 10 characters in the span of 2-3 chapters, so you actually get to spend some time with the ones you’re fed bit by bit. Side characters have interesting arcs beyond their introduction and maybe a recruitment conversation. Oswin, Matthew, Pent & Louise, Hawkeye, Legault, Jaffar & Nino, you’re not even guaranteed to get or keep all of them, but when you do they become a much more active part of the story than almost any character from FE6 did. Same goes for the enemies; I think the Black Fang and Nergal are some of the most dynamic antagonists in the series.
I don’t mean to just trash FE6 here, because I still do like it. I just think that if you know how much about it this game improved, it really makes FE7 seem like that much more of an achievement. It’s super worthy of praise on its own, though, and I think it’s worth it for anyone remotely interested in Fire Emblem to play.
Extra notes: I have to put this stuff somewhere it really just amazes me. They had to at least have planned that all the absent parents from FE6 were gonna be in this game because they feel so naturally integrated in it. As opposed to just cameos they’re real characters who were awkwardly absent from the last game. Really like how all-around, this game scales back the scope of things in Elibe, too—we got a lost about Bern and Eturia and Ilia in the last game, so focusing on Lycia for the most part with some characters from all around the continent really helps the worldbuilding more than jumping around everywhere in the previous game did. Even if we don’t go everywhere on Elibe, the people who come from all around it bring the places they live to life (this is true for Sacae especially, and it really makes the tragedy of the nation in the previous game feel so much more powerful).
The changes are all little, and a lot of them are very technical aspects of the mechanics (which you can see in a great breakdown here: https://www.reddit.com/r/fireemblem/comments/cck83m/sequel_talk_mechanical_changes_from_fe6_to_fe7/), but when they all come together they make the game that much better. There are maps with varied objectives; no more needing to seize every map. Classes get reworked or buffed to make them more usable in the long-term (stinks that assassins can’t steal once they’re promoted from thieves tough). Gaiden chapters are no longer gimmicky maps that you need to do to get the game’s true ending, feeling more like worthwhile but non-necessary rewards for going out of your way in the main story. And it’s not just mechanics that got changed, the storytelling of the game was tremendously improved. You don’t get thrown 10 characters in the span of 2-3 chapters, so you actually get to spend some time with the ones you’re fed bit by bit. Side characters have interesting arcs beyond their introduction and maybe a recruitment conversation. Oswin, Matthew, Pent & Louise, Hawkeye, Legault, Jaffar & Nino, you’re not even guaranteed to get or keep all of them, but when you do they become a much more active part of the story than almost any character from FE6 did. Same goes for the enemies; I think the Black Fang and Nergal are some of the most dynamic antagonists in the series.
I don’t mean to just trash FE6 here, because I still do like it. I just think that if you know how much about it this game improved, it really makes FE7 seem like that much more of an achievement. It’s super worthy of praise on its own, though, and I think it’s worth it for anyone remotely interested in Fire Emblem to play.
Extra notes: I have to put this stuff somewhere it really just amazes me. They had to at least have planned that all the absent parents from FE6 were gonna be in this game because they feel so naturally integrated in it. As opposed to just cameos they’re real characters who were awkwardly absent from the last game. Really like how all-around, this game scales back the scope of things in Elibe, too—we got a lost about Bern and Eturia and Ilia in the last game, so focusing on Lycia for the most part with some characters from all around the continent really helps the worldbuilding more than jumping around everywhere in the previous game did. Even if we don’t go everywhere on Elibe, the people who come from all around it bring the places they live to life (this is true for Sacae especially, and it really makes the tragedy of the nation in the previous game feel so much more powerful).
"You called for THE Sain? Of course you did! Now, if you wouldn't mind pointing the way to the ladies..."
florina is so skrunkly
i can't stand binding blade outside of a few characters that i really enjoy, but thankfully blazing blade exists as proof that elibe wasn't 100% a mistake. one of the few fire emblem games where the gameplay feels like it fits the scale of the conflict by virtue of it not being a story necessarily about continental warfare. it's also one of the few fire emblem games with a unique central conflict that isn't just "red (sometimes purple i guess) empire invades blue kingdom, hijinx ensue!" even if there are a few red vs blue fire emblem plots i enjoy more.
shoutouts to nils for being the last and absolute worst bard unit we'd ever get in the series
shoutouts to nils for being the last and absolute worst bard unit we'd ever get in the series