FE6 represents the core of the Fire emblem series, reduced to its most concentrated form. The removal of many FE4/FE5 mechanics and the simpler map design make this, to me, the quintessential Fire Emblem experience.
The difficulty level is demanding, but perfectly captures the feeling of leading a ragtag group of soldiers against a stronger, oppressive power, slowly gaining (and losing) allies along the way. The series is at its best when it presents you with disadvantageous situations, where your units are both weaker and in smaller number than the enemy, then forces you to break through them, demanding strategical thinking and good use of the limited tools you're given. This is a very player-phase focused game - you don't have any "super-units" who can safely handle a group of enemies by themselves. Every turn is a puzzle you need to crack, where every piece matters, and what worked last turn won't work in the next. The reliable strategy of putting your strongest unit with a 1-2 range weapon in the edge of enemy range, which many players quickly get comfortable with in other games, is not enough to get you through this game.
Additionally, the large and diverse cast of likable characters (with varying power levels), and the split routes system increases the game's replay value, while encouraging ironman runs.
The plot is nothing to write home about, but it gets the job done - I would consider it to be above average, by FE standards. The visuals and sountrack need no introduction - the GBA games are widely regarded by their amazing spritework and animations, and this is where it all began.
I wouldn't recommend you to start with FE6 as your first game in the series, but don't shy away from it due to all the bad rep it gets. If you engage with it and become flexible about the way you approach each turn, it's one of the most tight and rewarding strategy games you'll ever play.
The difficulty level is demanding, but perfectly captures the feeling of leading a ragtag group of soldiers against a stronger, oppressive power, slowly gaining (and losing) allies along the way. The series is at its best when it presents you with disadvantageous situations, where your units are both weaker and in smaller number than the enemy, then forces you to break through them, demanding strategical thinking and good use of the limited tools you're given. This is a very player-phase focused game - you don't have any "super-units" who can safely handle a group of enemies by themselves. Every turn is a puzzle you need to crack, where every piece matters, and what worked last turn won't work in the next. The reliable strategy of putting your strongest unit with a 1-2 range weapon in the edge of enemy range, which many players quickly get comfortable with in other games, is not enough to get you through this game.
Additionally, the large and diverse cast of likable characters (with varying power levels), and the split routes system increases the game's replay value, while encouraging ironman runs.
The plot is nothing to write home about, but it gets the job done - I would consider it to be above average, by FE standards. The visuals and sountrack need no introduction - the GBA games are widely regarded by their amazing spritework and animations, and this is where it all began.
I wouldn't recommend you to start with FE6 as your first game in the series, but don't shy away from it due to all the bad rep it gets. If you engage with it and become flexible about the way you approach each turn, it's one of the most tight and rewarding strategy games you'll ever play.
I like it :) very rewarding silly time
Principal ponto negativo desse FE e que é obrigatório fazer as side quests pra conseguir o final verdadeiro, e se tu não tiver um guia tu simplesmente perde uma run toda do jogo por ter perdido uma side quest
I haven't finished this game myself yet (but I've seen some lets plays). Since I got to chapter 9 and have seen the general idea of what is left I feel confident in my rating, but I intend to beat this game eventually.
The characters and story are pretty decent, but where this game really shines is in its gameplay and scope, as this is one of the largest scale stories in the series, and the massive maps really help to sell that point.
The characters and story are pretty decent, but where this game really shines is in its gameplay and scope, as this is one of the largest scale stories in the series, and the massive maps really help to sell that point.
long hallway maps are annoying but otherwise one of the best stories and a lot of challenge
It'd be nice if Roy wasn't dead weight for 90% of the game
The game you play to find out who the guy in Smash was. If you like this game over any of the other GBA ones you're objectively wrong
I keep starting this one and never finishing it. Roy’s our Boy tho so :)
My goat Roy!!!!!
this game is fucking dogshit, oh my god. i actually really like the characters and story but the gameplay is so bad, its like a reverse fates to me. axe and dark magic users are actually unplayable, the maps fucking suck, and roy actually doesnt have the worst growths but he promotes like 2 chapters before the end its fucking ridiculous. zephiel is awesome though
Este juego es una mierda
One of the most charming, heartfelt, and emotionally resonant games I've ever played. The humor has aged extremely well and the characters are all delightful. The writing is masterful and runs the whole spectrum of emotion effortlessly. The multiple endings add replay value and basically every aspect of the gameplay exists to serve the narrative. Without question one of the greatest games I've ever played and truly deserving of the title of masterpiece.
Honestly, a decent enough FE game, if not a particularly remarkable one.
Story was kinda just: "(location A) is invading (location B), go save the day." but the ending was pretty good, and gameplay, while frustrating at times, did work.
Story was kinda just: "(location A) is invading (location B), go save the day." but the ending was pretty good, and gameplay, while frustrating at times, did work.
Great difficulty and a great Iron Man game, however the cast and story are lacking.
IntSys decides to take a safe approach and adapt a story that's very similar to Archanea which I'm not a fan of honestly. In fact you could say this game is Archanea 2.0 with how similar the stories are. It also sadly takes a step back in gameplay compared to what we got in Thracia 776. But what this game does do quite well is introduce the GBA engine! It's one of IntSys best engines with it's quick menuing, fun animations, and great mechanics taken from Thracia(not all of them sadly). It's nice to play once but I wouldn't play this game again personally.
one of my favorite FEs. pleasant cast, fun maps, good gameplay, really just nothing i dislike
Played HM Sacae route. Kinda don't like this game after playing FE5. So many mechanics have been stripped away and HM definitely wasn't play tested. In a weird way I kinda really liked how comically hard it was at some points
Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade is a game that attracts many people due to the popularity of the protagonist, Roy, in the Super Smash Bros. series. However, this is a game that is likely to be very difficult for anyone looking to enter the series with.
The Binding Blade is an entry that heavily favors an aggressive playstyle, which makes it beloved by some people, and hated by others. For those who know what to expect, this can lead to a very enjoyable, albeit challenging experience. For those I have known who were unprepared, they often dropped the game after becoming frustrated with this design.
Narratively, I don't think this game is particularly notable outside of its main antagonist, Zephiel. It is fine for what it is, but I don't think it is amazing by any means.
If you are interested in it, give it a try! Just keep the difficulty of the game in mind if you aren't as experienced with the Fire Emblem series.
The Binding Blade is an entry that heavily favors an aggressive playstyle, which makes it beloved by some people, and hated by others. For those who know what to expect, this can lead to a very enjoyable, albeit challenging experience. For those I have known who were unprepared, they often dropped the game after becoming frustrated with this design.
Narratively, I don't think this game is particularly notable outside of its main antagonist, Zephiel. It is fine for what it is, but I don't think it is amazing by any means.
If you are interested in it, give it a try! Just keep the difficulty of the game in mind if you aren't as experienced with the Fire Emblem series.
Binding Blade has some terrible units and unfair enemies. Reinforcements get a turn when they appear meaning you can literally lose with no way to prepare. Roy is one of the weakest lords and is unable to do anything other than sit in the middle back
'what if we took fe5 and removed everything that made it good'
sure
the worst of the GBA games but still very solid
a very unpolished version of what the GBA fire emblems would become but is still a fire emblem
This game is awesome but I hate chapter 19 with a passion, I remember it making me so angry I took a walk in the park to clear my head. lol Also the only game to have BIG DIECK ENERGY
This game is kinda hard, huh
It's probably THE most Fire Emblem game to Fire Emblem. This game is pretty emblematic of what the series is.
I technically played a ROM Hack dubbed the "No Redundancy" patch, but I still feel like I got a good feel of what the game is like.
That being said, some issues here and there.
Gameplay Rating: 7/10
Biggest issue: the AWFUL, AWFUL hitrates in this game mean you're going to be missing a lot of your attacks even if you're exploiting Weapon Triangle advantage.
The other issue: Ambush Reinforcements. Holy shit it can be brainmeltingly draining to be flanked with no warning and BOOM there goes your Healer. Awful, awful game mechanic. i hope this mechanic never sees the light of day again.
Apart from that, yeah, it's Fire Emblem. Cool weapons, awesome and charming animations, interesting maps, the whole package. A few more nitpicks here and there could include how you can't use stat boosters at base.
Story Rating: 8/10
It's damn solid for a Fire Emblem game. It's nothing that makes you lose your mind but it's a story and it's cohesive. It's like a prototype of Tellius in a way; this game sort of paved the road for those games, and they feel a little similar in that way.
Colorblind Test: A+
Nothing horrible to see here. The GBA's colors pop a lot so there's not a lot of problem when differentiating colors.
I technically played a ROM Hack dubbed the "No Redundancy" patch, but I still feel like I got a good feel of what the game is like.
That being said, some issues here and there.
Gameplay Rating: 7/10
Biggest issue: the AWFUL, AWFUL hitrates in this game mean you're going to be missing a lot of your attacks even if you're exploiting Weapon Triangle advantage.
The other issue: Ambush Reinforcements. Holy shit it can be brainmeltingly draining to be flanked with no warning and BOOM there goes your Healer. Awful, awful game mechanic. i hope this mechanic never sees the light of day again.
Apart from that, yeah, it's Fire Emblem. Cool weapons, awesome and charming animations, interesting maps, the whole package. A few more nitpicks here and there could include how you can't use stat boosters at base.
Story Rating: 8/10
It's damn solid for a Fire Emblem game. It's nothing that makes you lose your mind but it's a story and it's cohesive. It's like a prototype of Tellius in a way; this game sort of paved the road for those games, and they feel a little similar in that way.
Colorblind Test: A+
Nothing horrible to see here. The GBA's colors pop a lot so there's not a lot of problem when differentiating colors.
On hold
before reading this remember that I overall liked this game so I don't get death threats in the comments (or if you want to wish me death do it using an @ so I get the trophy lmao)
listen . i wanted to love fire emblem binding blade i really did . like theres some part of me that really wouldve ended up loving this game to death if it wasnt for the fact that its absolutely fucking tedious to play its not like this has no redeeming qualities but its pretty hard to just close an eye or maybe actually both eyes to some of the stuff that this throws at you
binding blade has actually a lot going for it bomb presentation amazing animations and art design addictive gameplay (:3 blatant lie) and the usual fire emblem flare in the story department but it really works a lot against its favor in many different ways
before I get to the weird stuff I want to really have a moment to say that the pixel art is incredible every single battle animation is intoxicatingly good and when you get to advanced spells there's some real eyecandy there im just gonna say this every single character portrait even if pretty simplistic drives the charm and the worldmap designs (in terms of aesthetic) are a delight to look at and even the backgrounds during the cutscene segments have a lot of details here and there that really add to the experience
unfortunately apart from this (that will become a staple for the other gba games anyway) I found this game kind of mid in every single aspect and you won't believe how much this ENRAGES ME UGHHJJ i swear I did my best to like this entry but it has too many downsides to actually say that this is at least at the same level of awakening for me . not even talking about echoes because that one is beyond everything else entirely
the story is pretty simplistic and doesn't get too many interesting plot points through a whopping amount of 25 chapters + like what 7 other chapters and thats a fucking shame apart from the beginning of the game and I'd say until you rescue lilina (one of my favorite character in this game actually) it really slows down for the entire game and picks up again only in the last chapters and since its just gonna be 20 chapters of absolutely nothing its a damn fucking flaw if you ask me most of the beats are gonna be like "our nation is against this nation and we are gonna defeat the main lord of this plot of land and then another and them another and then another until we get to the final boss and everyone's happy" and even when they get to interesting bits like the dragon lore stuff or the demon dragon infodumb in one of the last chapters I was so fucking exhausted of the story so far or lack thereof that I just wanted this torture to end im not even joking here
also I don't understand why the true ending is locked behind some extra quests whose conditions for their unlocking are a mystery to me as of yet I followed a guide so idc
granted there's some high points here and there again the whole lilina affair is probably my favorite part of the story and the dragon stuff is also cool and the final boss and ending are sad enough to make me at least enjoy the closing act but apart from that there's not a lot of stuff that I can say about the story besides its a fucking slog throughout but that's not gonna be so bad if the characters are charming !!!
they're not
this game strangely has a large cast of characters to the point that I only used like ¼ of the entire roster (which were also the only good ones anyway lmao) and yknow what happens when you make a game with too many characters ??? none of them will be properly developed thats right and thats a fucking shame if you ask me
tell me 5 characters in this game without looking on the Internet I'll wait
even the characters that should be the protagonists have to take a backseat most of the time because when you recruit the chapter character they're gonna steal the one liners for the most superficial character design ever and then get in your caravan and never speak again which means that most of these people won't have character development or anything ALTHOUGH !!! the supports DO give a little insight on the character relations and whatnot and when you recruit a new character that doesn't join automatically sometimes youre gonna need a specific character to make them do the talky talk but realistically apart from this theres absolutely nothing
clearly roy is gonna be the most deep character of the bunch and even there ? he's not really the deep anyway its like they put a shonen protagonist into the fire emblem universe and called it a day hes lawful he wants to kill the bad guy and can do nothing wrong DISCLAIMER echoes became one of my favorite games here and alm has the same problem you can get tanjiro from demon slayer and put him in the shoes of alm and it would be the same my problem is not about ROY but how generally this game handles characters and character development
other characters do have some kind of depth like fae which is a little dragon with a big heart and some kind of lore implication lilina is the love of my life and my sweet little angel but again after you save her she's just gonna sit her ass in the caravan and do her magic things I guess and … I already forgot who else there is
hector and eliwood are interesting but they're gonna be explored better in blazing blade anyway so whatever the red and green knights are as bland as ever there's dieck who is actually just zoro from one piece and there's also another reason why I want to fuck him shanna is very pretty and clarine is fucking funny sue is also an interesting character with zero depth apart from my tribe is very rural and we eat raw meat and I think I wanna sit on noahs face but I never really used him in battle anyway thea and larum are also very cute cath is an exception because I remember her for ruining my life milady can put her stilettos in my urethra and I want perceval to cum all over my face sophia is BEAUTIFUL but doesn't last 2 seconds in battle zeiss is also another face I'd sit on and I want douglas to choke me and fuck me raw
and guinivere is cool I guess not a fan of the damsel in distress just sitting around not doing anything trope
now again most of the characters are gonna just say a one liner and dip but some of them are really hot so I can excuse them
now the gameplay is basically usual fire emblem I'm not even gonna talk about it but I'm gonna say that this is definitely the most weirdly balanced one of the bunched I've played so far which is not a lot but still
some of the characters I mentioned are completely useless and again most of the characters you're gonna use are just gonna be like what 10 ? maybe even less because most of the characters here just suck and aren't even worth to put into battle to just then getting killed before even acquiring a level this game is so fucking unreal and difficult for no reason like who the fuck thought about ok let's make this game difficult by making the maps too large and/or intricate for their own good and making the hit rate be like 10% what am I even supposed to do with that im gonna go insane
so yeah basically if you want my advice just use Allan Lance Dieke Rutger Shin and maybe Sue Milady and then idk I also added to the bunch clarine and perceval now lilina is probably not good and you should just go with lugh but I wanted to use her in battle so I ended up leveling her up like hell and she became a fucking tank thank me later
and I guess that's basically it I can say that the music is also cool doesn't really excel in anything if I'm being really honest but it's serviceable and works well for the game in general so at least I'm gonna give this to the game I already talked badly about it long enough and I think there's some really interesting tracks here and there and for some reasons I ended up being a sucker for the sad songs like distant utopia is definitely an highlight if you ask me and the theme of guinivere just being depressed and miserable somehow ended up being my favorite theme out of the entirety of the tracklist idk it's such a beautiful song what the hell oh also I guess the polar region one is another highlight and there's a battle theme that I can't fight but yeah there's this one too if you're interested the name is [????????????] I'm pretty sure there's some other cool stuff I listened during my campaign I will be sure to check them out
(this is a consideration as soon as I finished the game maybe if I listen to the ost alone without getting frustrated at the game I'm gonna change my mind thank you)
all in all this is a fine game I just expected more from the "core fire emblem experience" if I had started from this one I'd have dropped the series marathon so fucking hard what the hell
this game is fucking impossible without savestates I want to talk with fire emblem fans who say umh achtually rebooting the game when a character dies is part of the whole experience hehe umh bro just say you got suicidal tendencies and go
listen . i wanted to love fire emblem binding blade i really did . like theres some part of me that really wouldve ended up loving this game to death if it wasnt for the fact that its absolutely fucking tedious to play its not like this has no redeeming qualities but its pretty hard to just close an eye or maybe actually both eyes to some of the stuff that this throws at you
binding blade has actually a lot going for it bomb presentation amazing animations and art design addictive gameplay (:3 blatant lie) and the usual fire emblem flare in the story department but it really works a lot against its favor in many different ways
before I get to the weird stuff I want to really have a moment to say that the pixel art is incredible every single battle animation is intoxicatingly good and when you get to advanced spells there's some real eyecandy there im just gonna say this every single character portrait even if pretty simplistic drives the charm and the worldmap designs (in terms of aesthetic) are a delight to look at and even the backgrounds during the cutscene segments have a lot of details here and there that really add to the experience
unfortunately apart from this (that will become a staple for the other gba games anyway) I found this game kind of mid in every single aspect and you won't believe how much this ENRAGES ME UGHHJJ i swear I did my best to like this entry but it has too many downsides to actually say that this is at least at the same level of awakening for me . not even talking about echoes because that one is beyond everything else entirely
the story is pretty simplistic and doesn't get too many interesting plot points through a whopping amount of 25 chapters + like what 7 other chapters and thats a fucking shame apart from the beginning of the game and I'd say until you rescue lilina (one of my favorite character in this game actually) it really slows down for the entire game and picks up again only in the last chapters and since its just gonna be 20 chapters of absolutely nothing its a damn fucking flaw if you ask me most of the beats are gonna be like "our nation is against this nation and we are gonna defeat the main lord of this plot of land and then another and them another and then another until we get to the final boss and everyone's happy" and even when they get to interesting bits like the dragon lore stuff or the demon dragon infodumb in one of the last chapters I was so fucking exhausted of the story so far or lack thereof that I just wanted this torture to end im not even joking here
also I don't understand why the true ending is locked behind some extra quests whose conditions for their unlocking are a mystery to me as of yet I followed a guide so idc
granted there's some high points here and there again the whole lilina affair is probably my favorite part of the story and the dragon stuff is also cool and the final boss and ending are sad enough to make me at least enjoy the closing act but apart from that there's not a lot of stuff that I can say about the story besides its a fucking slog throughout but that's not gonna be so bad if the characters are charming !!!
they're not
this game strangely has a large cast of characters to the point that I only used like ¼ of the entire roster (which were also the only good ones anyway lmao) and yknow what happens when you make a game with too many characters ??? none of them will be properly developed thats right and thats a fucking shame if you ask me
tell me 5 characters in this game without looking on the Internet I'll wait
even the characters that should be the protagonists have to take a backseat most of the time because when you recruit the chapter character they're gonna steal the one liners for the most superficial character design ever and then get in your caravan and never speak again which means that most of these people won't have character development or anything ALTHOUGH !!! the supports DO give a little insight on the character relations and whatnot and when you recruit a new character that doesn't join automatically sometimes youre gonna need a specific character to make them do the talky talk but realistically apart from this theres absolutely nothing
clearly roy is gonna be the most deep character of the bunch and even there ? he's not really the deep anyway its like they put a shonen protagonist into the fire emblem universe and called it a day hes lawful he wants to kill the bad guy and can do nothing wrong DISCLAIMER echoes became one of my favorite games here and alm has the same problem you can get tanjiro from demon slayer and put him in the shoes of alm and it would be the same my problem is not about ROY but how generally this game handles characters and character development
other characters do have some kind of depth like fae which is a little dragon with a big heart and some kind of lore implication lilina is the love of my life and my sweet little angel but again after you save her she's just gonna sit her ass in the caravan and do her magic things I guess and … I already forgot who else there is
hector and eliwood are interesting but they're gonna be explored better in blazing blade anyway so whatever the red and green knights are as bland as ever there's dieck who is actually just zoro from one piece and there's also another reason why I want to fuck him shanna is very pretty and clarine is fucking funny sue is also an interesting character with zero depth apart from my tribe is very rural and we eat raw meat and I think I wanna sit on noahs face but I never really used him in battle anyway thea and larum are also very cute cath is an exception because I remember her for ruining my life milady can put her stilettos in my urethra and I want perceval to cum all over my face sophia is BEAUTIFUL but doesn't last 2 seconds in battle zeiss is also another face I'd sit on and I want douglas to choke me and fuck me raw
and guinivere is cool I guess not a fan of the damsel in distress just sitting around not doing anything trope
now again most of the characters are gonna just say a one liner and dip but some of them are really hot so I can excuse them
now the gameplay is basically usual fire emblem I'm not even gonna talk about it but I'm gonna say that this is definitely the most weirdly balanced one of the bunched I've played so far which is not a lot but still
some of the characters I mentioned are completely useless and again most of the characters you're gonna use are just gonna be like what 10 ? maybe even less because most of the characters here just suck and aren't even worth to put into battle to just then getting killed before even acquiring a level this game is so fucking unreal and difficult for no reason like who the fuck thought about ok let's make this game difficult by making the maps too large and/or intricate for their own good and making the hit rate be like 10% what am I even supposed to do with that im gonna go insane
so yeah basically if you want my advice just use Allan Lance Dieke Rutger Shin and maybe Sue Milady and then idk I also added to the bunch clarine and perceval now lilina is probably not good and you should just go with lugh but I wanted to use her in battle so I ended up leveling her up like hell and she became a fucking tank thank me later
and I guess that's basically it I can say that the music is also cool doesn't really excel in anything if I'm being really honest but it's serviceable and works well for the game in general so at least I'm gonna give this to the game I already talked badly about it long enough and I think there's some really interesting tracks here and there and for some reasons I ended up being a sucker for the sad songs like distant utopia is definitely an highlight if you ask me and the theme of guinivere just being depressed and miserable somehow ended up being my favorite theme out of the entirety of the tracklist idk it's such a beautiful song what the hell oh also I guess the polar region one is another highlight and there's a battle theme that I can't fight but yeah there's this one too if you're interested the name is [????????????] I'm pretty sure there's some other cool stuff I listened during my campaign I will be sure to check them out
(this is a consideration as soon as I finished the game maybe if I listen to the ost alone without getting frustrated at the game I'm gonna change my mind thank you)
all in all this is a fine game I just expected more from the "core fire emblem experience" if I had started from this one I'd have dropped the series marathon so fucking hard what the hell
this game is fucking impossible without savestates I want to talk with fire emblem fans who say umh achtually rebooting the game when a character dies is part of the whole experience hehe umh bro just say you got suicidal tendencies and go
I love this game way too much. Despite its multiple flaws. My opinion is pretty biased because this was my first FE game
damn roy how about you try being a good unit