Doing battle with Fire Emblem
by Alisha Karabinus 
{ Aug 17th 2008 at 2:00PM }
The latest Fire Emblem is out now for Japan, which means we can get a closer look at the franchise's first outing on the DS. Not only have we tracked down a new set of screens -- mostly featuring battle animations and menus -- but if you want to get a peek at the opening cinematics without blowing everything by watching a full video, you can check out some captures here. If you're only interested in the screenshots, check out the gallery below. Some of them are full screens (both top and bottom) from glimpses we've had before, while others are totally new. All, of course, are in Japanese.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Mr Khan @ Aug 17th 2008 2:31PM
Soo. Given Radiant Dawn's arduous 9-month localization delay, we can expect this in May or June?
Either way, it's starting to grow on me. Those sprites seemed hideous at first, but they make for some smooth animations.
Suichimo @ Aug 17th 2008 3:50PM
Still shots really don't do this game justice. I've been playing since it came out, thank you to people like Vincent who translate the menus so I know what I'm doing. Honestly, I'm pretty impressed with the game. There are 6 difficulties going from Normal to 5 star Hard. In normal you get 4 extra prologue chapters to level characters up while hard you start right at chapter 1 like you do in the original and the first remake, this is probably the biggest difference between the two modes.
In hard the enemies' stats are boosted. I'm playing Hard 3 right now and its giving me a decent challenge. Hard 5 however is nearly impossible as your fighting enemies who can easily kill you right in the very first chapter.
The new features of this game are pretty good as well, although I haven't been able to use the online shop or Wi-fi battles yet. You have Class Swap which allows you change a characters class depending on what "group" they are in. They've added in more of the modern features like supports and the weapon triangle, although supports are textless which kinda sucks. They also added in some Gaiden chapters but those really seem to only be there for people who are struggling as most of their requirements are only having a certain number, or fewer, of units left alive.
I'd say this game has something for everyone though. It has an easier mode for those who are new or just not as good at the series and it has harder modes for those of us who believe the series has been getting easier and easier.
I can explain anything else if people would like.
Zealot @ Aug 17th 2008 4:52PM
If this is a double post, I'm sorry. The comment gave me the You Did It! message it gives to first-time posters for some reason.
Gaiden chapters can only be accessed by playing POORLY?!?!?!? That's disappointing news, considering that when they were common (FE7 namely), they were rewards for playing well or meeting a difficult condition and usually rewarded the player with extra story, a new
character, or much-needed experience and items.
Nothing in FE7 beat the rush of, for instance, actually managing to kill Kishuna on the Dread Isle gaiden chapter in X turns when your mages are Silenced and his stats are through the roof, causing even your most powerful physical units to barely scrape 40% accuracy with Silver weapons. The well-deserved reward was yet another gaiden chapter full of chests and easy kills. There were only one or two such chapters in FE8 and I can't remember whether or not there were any in FE9 or FE10, and now that they're back they force FE enthusiasts to break their own no-deaths rule multiple times. Hopefully this isn't a sign of Nintendo relenting after the ridiculous criticism that Radiant Dawn was too hard.
I'm not looking forward to the game any less--Fire Emblem is my favorite RPG series. This is just a gameplay choice that seems uncharacteristic for the series. I still eagerly await a localization announcement--the lack of one is disconcerting. Radiant Dawn sold just as much as any other FE in recent memory. Are sales numbers in the lower hundreds of thousands now unacceptable for a Nintendo who demands megahit status from their first-party games?
117 @ Aug 17th 2008 9:00PM
gaiden chapters for playing badly? that annoys me. still going to get it, though.
chibi_wings @ Aug 17th 2008 11:34PM
the 'here' link doesn't seem to be working, or maybe it's just me....
I agree, unlocking gaiden chapters by playing badly is a horrible idea! I want all my characters alive, thank you! Nevertheless, since I first tried FE 7, I've been in love with FE! I am still looking forward to this. As for Nintendo, it tends to keep it's announcements hush hush. So FE 1 is still probably coming over, just give it more time. I also like the difficultly setting, it gives the game more replay-ability. I really liked how 7 had two difficulty setting (Normal - Eliwood and Hard- Hektor), so I'm looking forward to these new ones. ^^