Thracia 776 is not an easy game. I quickly found out that this game's reputation as "the hard one" of the Fire Emblem franchise was not to be taken lightly pretty early on, as it does not hesitate to throw some really difficult map design at you almost immediately.
Thracia constantly forces you to adapt and break your Fire Emblem habits in order to think of a new way to win, and you often have to do it fairly quickly; endless droves of enemy reinforcements, destructive ballista, and bosses that can seriously alter the playing field are commonplace in this unforgiving game. Your units are gonna die. Your best weapons are gonna break. You're gonna get hit with status spells. It's gonna be an uphill battle pretty much the entire time. The desperation and obviously unequal odds that Leif and his liberation force face as they look to free their homes on the Thracian peninsula are woven spectacularly into the gameplay. While not quite the best in the series, Thracia's story and characters approach the upper reaches of the Fire Emblem series as a result.
The gameplay had me frustrated at times, but the frustration was nearly always followed by the euphoria of overcoming the challenge that was staring me in the face. Whether it be hard earned, like in chapters 16, 17, or 22, or quickly bested via clever strategy, such as some warp tactics I used in chapters 23 and 24, there was always some great satisfaction waiting for me at the end.
Ultimately, the reward of finishing Thracia is no more than a simple pat on the back, with Leif exclaiming that "we did it" as the final map concludes. There's nothing even that ceremonious about it other than the fact that the game is over; some concluding dialogue is said and the credits begin to roll. No, the real reward for beating Thracia 776 and all of its seemingly unfair, unforgiving, punishingly hard maps is the fact that you conquered it. This game threw everything it had, cryptic weirdness and all, right at you and you bested it.
This is some of Fire Emblem's finest content. While not perfect due to a bevy of weird recruitments, weird gaiden chapter requirements, weird gameplay quirks and generally including a wide array of bullshit, this is a brilliantly fun and wickedly challenging entry that is one of the best in the series.
TLDR I HAVE STOCKHOLM SYNDROME FROM THIS FUCKASS GAME
Thracia constantly forces you to adapt and break your Fire Emblem habits in order to think of a new way to win, and you often have to do it fairly quickly; endless droves of enemy reinforcements, destructive ballista, and bosses that can seriously alter the playing field are commonplace in this unforgiving game. Your units are gonna die. Your best weapons are gonna break. You're gonna get hit with status spells. It's gonna be an uphill battle pretty much the entire time. The desperation and obviously unequal odds that Leif and his liberation force face as they look to free their homes on the Thracian peninsula are woven spectacularly into the gameplay. While not quite the best in the series, Thracia's story and characters approach the upper reaches of the Fire Emblem series as a result.
The gameplay had me frustrated at times, but the frustration was nearly always followed by the euphoria of overcoming the challenge that was staring me in the face. Whether it be hard earned, like in chapters 16, 17, or 22, or quickly bested via clever strategy, such as some warp tactics I used in chapters 23 and 24, there was always some great satisfaction waiting for me at the end.
Ultimately, the reward of finishing Thracia is no more than a simple pat on the back, with Leif exclaiming that "we did it" as the final map concludes. There's nothing even that ceremonious about it other than the fact that the game is over; some concluding dialogue is said and the credits begin to roll. No, the real reward for beating Thracia 776 and all of its seemingly unfair, unforgiving, punishingly hard maps is the fact that you conquered it. This game threw everything it had, cryptic weirdness and all, right at you and you bested it.
This is some of Fire Emblem's finest content. While not perfect due to a bevy of weird recruitments, weird gaiden chapter requirements, weird gameplay quirks and generally including a wide array of bullshit, this is a brilliantly fun and wickedly challenging entry that is one of the best in the series.
TLDR I HAVE STOCKHOLM SYNDROME FROM THIS FUCKASS GAME