Let's talk about Fire Emblem 4: Genealogy of the Holy War because boy do I have a lot to say about this game (Not done with it yet, currently on chapter 8 with like 55 hours and I think that is merely 3/4 of the way through)
I have such a massive love/hate relationship with Genealogy. This is a game that I respect the hell out of and appreciate as a piece of art for how boldly it tackles some of the darkest subject matter I've seen in any game and how revolutionary and important to the series it was for being the first to implement many future staple mechanics (Like the iconic Weapons Triangle) more so than I actually have fun while playing it.
To me, whether or not a game is 'fun' is the most important thing at the end of the day and since 'fun' is such a subjective term it can come in various ways to various people. Some find fun in just experiencing a great story, others want engaging gameplay etc. For me I'd prefer both, but I won't lie when I say that if the story in this game wasn't as good as it is, I would've quit long before the point I'm at now because I just don't find the gameplay fun in the slightest. I did when I first started, but it has vastly worn out its welcome.
The gameplay is marred by insanely archaic and cryptic choices. You have to place certain units in certain spots on the map to get secret items that are very important, the recruitment conditions for a lot of units are very confusing and to say I would be lost if I wasn't using a guide is an understatement. The game is damn near unplayable without one and you should take this statement from me very seriously because I hate using guides for games, I don't even do it with Trails and people always complain about that series being cryptic and archaic as well (It's nowhere near as much so as this game)
However the worst part of all is the fucking map design.
These maps are MASSIVE, ridiculously so. Every map is like a whole damn continent where you have multiple objectives to clear and a single chapter in this game would be the equivalent to like 3-4 chapters in any normal FE title and while I respect what they're going for and how it helps enhance the world-building with gameplay and plot cohesion and it really gives you that feeling of a massive war that went on for years, that was the priority when designing them, making them fun was not and it is obvious because simply put it just IS NOT FUN. Am I supposed to like taking 5 turns just to get to the bulk of the map? Am I supposed to enjoy waiting over and over while I move all my units from one end of the map to the next? Who thought it was a good idea to give this game forest and sand terrain that hinders movement to like 2-3 spaces despite it already taking like an hour just to move all my units across the map without that movement hinderance and in doing so making the pacing of the game even slower than it already is?
Plus I'll be honest, I am no casual or new to the tactical RPG genre, but this game is one of the hardest ones I've ever played, the RNG rates are just downright not fair at times and I can't tell you how many times I've had to re-load to save units because they miss both their attacks at like 80% hit chance and get hit by a unit that has a 2% crit chance and just die instantly. It makes the game super tense, I'll give it that, but it certainly isn't fun having to constantly re-load and figure out the 1 proper combination of moves to make sure all my units stay alive. Ngl, the game would be damn near unplayable without emulated save states as well.
With all this said, I still adore the game, I really truly do. The narrative, the characters, the world-building, the music, the grand stakes and sense of tension and atmosphere this game gives, the art direction and sprite work. It's all perfect, no exaggeration. This is legit one of the best political/war drama stories I've ever seen in a game and maybe in the top 10 stories I've experienced in a game in general, insanely impressive for a game that came out in 1996. I see where 3H took a lot of influence from this story, but honestly 3H wishes it was this well written and deep. To me Genealogy is what happens when you take the generational storytelling of something like Jojo's Bizarre Adventure (Hell Sigurd is very similar to Johnathan Joestar in personality as well and his nemesis feels like a mix between Dio and Griffith from Berserk) and mix it with the dark fantasy political style of A Song of Ice and Fire. It's a story that will stick with me for years to come and I have not even reached the conclusion to it yet.
I honestly just hope the game does get that rumored, fabled remake because if this game had some much needed quality of life improvements to the gameplay and kept EVERYTHING else the EXACT same (Knowing modern Nintendo they'll censor the hell out of the story, but one can hope that doesn't happen), it truly would be the absolute best and perfect Fire Emblem game.
I have such a massive love/hate relationship with Genealogy. This is a game that I respect the hell out of and appreciate as a piece of art for how boldly it tackles some of the darkest subject matter I've seen in any game and how revolutionary and important to the series it was for being the first to implement many future staple mechanics (Like the iconic Weapons Triangle) more so than I actually have fun while playing it.
To me, whether or not a game is 'fun' is the most important thing at the end of the day and since 'fun' is such a subjective term it can come in various ways to various people. Some find fun in just experiencing a great story, others want engaging gameplay etc. For me I'd prefer both, but I won't lie when I say that if the story in this game wasn't as good as it is, I would've quit long before the point I'm at now because I just don't find the gameplay fun in the slightest. I did when I first started, but it has vastly worn out its welcome.
The gameplay is marred by insanely archaic and cryptic choices. You have to place certain units in certain spots on the map to get secret items that are very important, the recruitment conditions for a lot of units are very confusing and to say I would be lost if I wasn't using a guide is an understatement. The game is damn near unplayable without one and you should take this statement from me very seriously because I hate using guides for games, I don't even do it with Trails and people always complain about that series being cryptic and archaic as well (It's nowhere near as much so as this game)
However the worst part of all is the fucking map design.
These maps are MASSIVE, ridiculously so. Every map is like a whole damn continent where you have multiple objectives to clear and a single chapter in this game would be the equivalent to like 3-4 chapters in any normal FE title and while I respect what they're going for and how it helps enhance the world-building with gameplay and plot cohesion and it really gives you that feeling of a massive war that went on for years, that was the priority when designing them, making them fun was not and it is obvious because simply put it just IS NOT FUN. Am I supposed to like taking 5 turns just to get to the bulk of the map? Am I supposed to enjoy waiting over and over while I move all my units from one end of the map to the next? Who thought it was a good idea to give this game forest and sand terrain that hinders movement to like 2-3 spaces despite it already taking like an hour just to move all my units across the map without that movement hinderance and in doing so making the pacing of the game even slower than it already is?
Plus I'll be honest, I am no casual or new to the tactical RPG genre, but this game is one of the hardest ones I've ever played, the RNG rates are just downright not fair at times and I can't tell you how many times I've had to re-load to save units because they miss both their attacks at like 80% hit chance and get hit by a unit that has a 2% crit chance and just die instantly. It makes the game super tense, I'll give it that, but it certainly isn't fun having to constantly re-load and figure out the 1 proper combination of moves to make sure all my units stay alive. Ngl, the game would be damn near unplayable without emulated save states as well.
With all this said, I still adore the game, I really truly do. The narrative, the characters, the world-building, the music, the grand stakes and sense of tension and atmosphere this game gives, the art direction and sprite work. It's all perfect, no exaggeration. This is legit one of the best political/war drama stories I've ever seen in a game and maybe in the top 10 stories I've experienced in a game in general, insanely impressive for a game that came out in 1996. I see where 3H took a lot of influence from this story, but honestly 3H wishes it was this well written and deep. To me Genealogy is what happens when you take the generational storytelling of something like Jojo's Bizarre Adventure (Hell Sigurd is very similar to Johnathan Joestar in personality as well and his nemesis feels like a mix between Dio and Griffith from Berserk) and mix it with the dark fantasy political style of A Song of Ice and Fire. It's a story that will stick with me for years to come and I have not even reached the conclusion to it yet.
I honestly just hope the game does get that rumored, fabled remake because if this game had some much needed quality of life improvements to the gameplay and kept EVERYTHING else the EXACT same (Knowing modern Nintendo they'll censor the hell out of the story, but one can hope that doesn't happen), it truly would be the absolute best and perfect Fire Emblem game.