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vilkacis
Feb 16, 2011


The great hero Axebeard McBeardaxe may have been forgotten by history, but his bloodline lives on!


Also dark magic is rad and I wish we got more giant gba druid robes.

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Darth TNT
Sep 20, 2013

hopeandjoy posted:

He’s probably the only member of the DB added in RD other than Micaiah to be useful, but he also has consistently been poo poo for me by not hitting his strength or speed growths. The rng can make even good units bad if it hates you.

Edward is good.
Leo is like the only really terrible unit thanks to his speed growth and lackluster strength.
Meg exists.



AradoBalanga posted:

Lyon: His unique tome lets him have a weapon triangle advantage over colorless units (i.e., bows, staves, daggers and Female Grima) and essentially gives him a damage boost over those units, but is offset by horribly low speed to point he needs either Quick Riposte, Desperation or a Breaker skill to double units.

Female Grima?

chiasaur11
Oct 22, 2012



Darth TNT posted:

Female Grima?

Yeah. She's a colorless flying dragon in Heroes. The only colorless melee unit in the game right now.

There's also a male version who's a green armored dragon.

Basically, the unit in Heroes is Grima's avatar, but glowing and they attack with a giant dragon head. Like you do.

BlazetheInferno
Jun 6, 2015

Me and a friend like to separate weapon type from character when looking at whether a character is good or not. As a result of this, we're among the people who feel Canas is rather overhyped. Dark Magic is OP as gently caress in Blazing Sword, there's no question of that, and as a result, being literally the only dark magic user you get other than the final-chapter-exclusive, Canas is perfectly usable.

But calling him "great" for any reason other than simply how broken Dark Magic is... is kind of a stretch. If he were any other class, he'd be rather average at best.

Blaze Dragon
Aug 28, 2013
LOWTAX'S SPINE FUND

BlazetheInferno posted:

Me and a friend like to separate weapon type from character when looking at whether a character is good or not. As a result of this, we're among the people who feel Canas is rather overhyped. Dark Magic is OP as gently caress in Blazing Sword, there's no question of that, and as a result, being literally the only dark magic user you get other than the final-chapter-exclusive, Canas is perfectly usable.

But calling him "great" for any reason other than simply how broken Dark Magic is... is kind of a stretch. If he were any other class, he'd be rather average at best.

That seems like kind of missing the point though. A character isn't just a bunch of stats, though they obviously matter, their weaponry and abilities (in games with those) do count. Canas is great because he has two things no one else does: a monocle, and Dark Magic before the very end of the game. Were there other Dark Mages, you could maybe say "Canas is at best ok" because you had others, but there's a role in the game that literally only Canas can fill and that role is very, very useful, thus Canas is very good.

Also, monocle. C'mon.

Argent Cinereus
Feb 25, 2013

Blaze Dragon posted:

That seems like kind of missing the point though. A character isn't just a bunch of stats, though they obviously matter, their weaponry and abilities (in games with those) do count. Canas is great because he has two things no one else does: a monocle, and Dark Magic before the very end of the game. Were there other Dark Mages, you could maybe say "Canas is at best ok" because you had others, but there's a role in the game that literally only Canas can fill and that role is very, very useful, thus Canas is very good.

Also, monocle. C'mon.

Not to mention his defenses in FE7 are pretty good, especially for the magic units you get. Makes him surprisingly tanky, especially with Nosferatu. It's why he gets to have the monocle. Speed's not great, but that's not a problem unique to him, and is moderately fixable in their case.

Keldulas
Mar 18, 2009
On a similar note, I consider Ray in FE6 to be pretty awful. He IS the best of the dark mages, but Dark magic in that game is really inaccurate and I feel Ray doesn't compensate for that well. Similarly that makes Sophia utterly terrible to use. Compare that to every anima mage in the game who'll never miss and gets access to Aircalibur.

mandatory lesbian
Dec 18, 2012

BlazetheInferno posted:

Me and a friend like to separate weapon type from character when looking at whether a character is good or not. As a result of this, we're among the people who feel Canas is rather overhyped. Dark Magic is OP as gently caress in Blazing Sword, there's no question of that, and as a result, being literally the only dark magic user you get other than the final-chapter-exclusive, Canas is perfectly usable.

But calling him "great" for any reason other than simply how broken Dark Magic is... is kind of a stretch. If he were any other class, he'd be rather average at best.

okay but he's not another class, hes a dark mage. this seems like a really dumb way of rating units

Dance Officer
May 4, 2017

It would be awesome if we could dance!

Keldulas posted:

On a similar note, I consider Ray in FE6 to be pretty awful. He IS the best of the dark mages, but Dark magic in that game is really inaccurate and I feel Ray doesn't compensate for that well. Similarly that makes Sophia utterly terrible to use. Compare that to every anima mage in the game who'll never miss and gets access to Aircalibur.

Base Niime with a robe can nosferatu tank like nobody's business in hard mode. She's also the best staffer in the game. Ray being equal to her is a hard sell.

LordHippoman
May 30, 2013

I, frankly, want this smug Jagen to be my avatar on all forms of social media immediately.
Chapter 5x: Castle Crashers (Prep)

Last time we were met with a mysterious new chapter!



There we go. These maps are called “Gaiden Chapters”. Typically they’re optional side-chapters unlocked after fulfilling some set of hidden requirements. FE7 was full of them, and they would fill out a hidden side story.

Sacred Stones doesn’t do any of that. This is basically just Chapter 6, but it’s...different. It’s required, and it’s the only gaiden in the game.






We start in the throne room of Castle Renvall, where you may recognize a familiar sprite…



Read this with as much dripping sarcasm as possible, trust me.



: No. Prince Ephraim still fights in the lands north of Renvall.

: And why is that? What has happened to all those mercenaries you hired?

: They’ve proven to be less then adequate. Ephraim’s clever. His band strikes quickly and then vanishes into the woods. We more than double his numbers, and yet he uses the terrain wisely to fight us. He has no army–just a small force of knights loyal to Renais. Prince Ephraim’s reputation as a superb strategist would seem to be well earned.

The game really wants you to think Ephraim is cool. He is pretty cool.

: Hmm… How interesting. The lad’s beginning to whet my appetite. Tirado…Bring him to me as quickly as you can, will you?

: As you command. Just grant me an army, and I’ll bring him down swiftly.

: What sort of plan do you have?

: Master, I am your loyal adjutant, and you are my general.



This is such a bizarre thing to say. I’d say Tirado’s bullshitting him were the next, like, four lines of dialogue not about to happen.

: Really? Well then, let me hear them.

: Very well. First, you and I will leave this fort and head north.



I love the phrase “leafy playpen”. This map has a lot of good lines.

: Do not worry.



:ohdear:

(gonna take this opportunity to remind you, use spoiler tags for story stuff!)

: When the time is right, our friend will move on our behalf...



Meanwhile at the Leafy Playpen…





: Our weapons are in bad shape, and we’re running low on food. We can probably restock at a nearby village, but–

: No, that’s not an option. We’re in enemy territory. I will not involve innocents if I can avoid it.

: Yeah, I knew you’d say that. I mean, it’s because of stuff like that that we’ve stuck with you so far. But eventually, we do need to face reality. What are we going to do?



: I’ve heard the capital has fallen.

: Hm…So soon… Still, my father is in the capital, and he won’t surrender easily. Forde, Kyle. Our mission here is to harry the troops, to distract their eye. Hopefully, we’ll be able to give my father and Eirika time to escape.

Poor Magvel hasn’t invented fantasy cell phones yet.



: No word yet, and it’s about time he returned...



Oh hey he returned.

: I can confirm Grado presence at several points around our camp. Also, a large battalion of soldiers has been dispatched from Renvall. We shouldn’t tarry here any longer than necessary…

: I see.

: Seems as though we’ve certainly caught Grado’s eye this time. Should we retreat back to the capital, Prince Ephraim?



: Wh-what?!?




And smash cut to Renvall. :v:



: Alright, let’s go.



Another good line in this map.

: We’ve an entire army after us, and you want to charge their stronghold?


: Forde, watch your tongue! This is our prince you’re addressing!

: Kyle, please, it’s all right. We’ve heard nothing from home, So what harm could a little reckless besieging cause?

: Prince Ephraim…

: Don’t worry. I haven’t lost all sense of self-preservation. Renvall holds an important place in Grado’s national defense. If we can get the upper hand and take control of it, then Grado will waste many valuable soldiers trying to take it back I hope our attack proves useful to my father and Eirika.

: I understand what you’re saying, but… can we do it with our current strength?

: Every soldier in this area is trying to find us. The enemy has us vastly outnumbered. Attacking the castle is a ridiculous idea.




Ephraim’s plan is literally “this is so dumb they will NEVER see it coming”

: You have a point. I’m sure Renvall won’t expect us to attack with these numbers. Either way, we can’t run forever. And we’re running out of supplies. What’ve we got to lose? Shall we get ready to go?

: Yes. If we don’t move quickly, we may never get another chance.



This has become sort of a pseudo catchphrase for Ephraim over the years.

: Yes, sir!

Valuable input, Kyle.



The place is looking much livelier than it did earlier.



: To arms! Prince Ephraim’s circled around and brought the fight to us! If we capture the prince here, we can line our pockets with gold! Do you understand? We’ll be rich!





: Your wounds still haven’t healed from that last battle, have they? Don’t push yourself. If we’re defeated, you must return to Frelia. Understood?

: Understood…

: Let’s go! Kyle, Forde!



So, this map doesn’t have a real Prep screen, I’m just using the first turn as a pseudo version.



I forgot to mention this before, but you can press Start to bring up this little minimap. It’s honestly not all that helpful because it doesn’t give much information.



This map is pretty standard for an indoor level, though it’s bigger than Bazba’s hideout. There are some locked doors and chests, but we have no thief!



Thankfully, some of the enemies are carrying keys around.

The enemies on this map are fairly weak, to make up for you only having four units, but if you play smart, this is a big bonus because several of them are just kinda...bags of EXP.



Here’s an enemy we haven’t fought before. A Shaman! They wield Dark Magic! It doesn’t really matter right now, but they’ll be a bigger deal later.



We’re fairly close to the throne room already, but this pool of water blocks off any entrance. We’ll have to circle around.



Anyone having flashbacks to the spiral map from New Mystery, rest easy, there are actual enemies and things to fight in this one! It’s actually fun!




This hallway is pretty rude, be careful in it. That Archer and Shaman can light up anyone who steps inside.



And then we’ve got the boss.



Zonta’s got a pretty interesting weapon type. The Blades are just sword variants with higher Weight and lower hit rate. I think this is the last game they appeared in, so say hello and goodbye. (Whoops, Alxprit reminded me, they're in Radiant Dawn too.) He’s not too tough.

Now then, what you were probably really waiting for...





Ephraim is Very Good.

Look at those growths. Look at those bases! The only one of these that isn’t at least “okay” is 25 in Resistance, and even THAT is higher than most units get. Ephraim will have some trouble with Magic Users, if he doesn’t just immediately disembowel them. You pretty much can’t go wrong with him.

His Prf weapon, the Reginleif, is like the Rapier but for Lances. And a little stronger. It’s good stuff.





These next two units sort of belong in a pair. The traditional Red and Green Cavs are here, and here’s AbelKyle.

Kyle is pretty beefy. His strengths lie in his great physical abilities, with a pretty ridiculous Con for a cavalier and one of the best HP growths in the game. He has similar magic problems to Ephraim, though, and his Skill tends to fall pretty far behind, making it a bit of a gamble to hit, especially if you spec him into a weapon type that isn’t swords.





Forde is similar to Kyle, but with a tad bit less of that beefiness. He makes up for it with minor advantages in stuff like Skill and Speed. You might note that he’s pretty drat similar to his brother, Franz, so if he’s not working out for you, Forde makes a fine replacement. Or if you just really want horse units.





Orson might remind you of Seth. Orson isn’t QUITE Seth. He’s still a Paladin with great stats for his joining time and some really fantastic Growths (except luck, which is unfortunate), but he’s a tough nut to crack. Still, giving him experience might be a bad idea. The others need it more.

If you’re struggling a lot in this map, though, using Orson to prop yourself up a bit can squeeze you through the rough patches.

Bonus Content



Prince Of Renais, Ephraim

LordHippoman fucked around with this message at 03:17 on Jun 28, 2018

Alxprit
Feb 7, 2015

<click> <click> What is it with this dancing?! Bouncing around like fools... I would have thought my own kind at least would understand the seriousness of our Adventurer's Guild!

Monster maps are kind of like the "gaidens" of Sacred Stones, anyway.

Also, I think Blade weapons were in Radiant Dawn. And there were blade-type variants for lances and axes as well, if you had the strength to handle them. It was kind of interesting. (Also there was a generic javelin-type weapon for swords too. It seemed to really want to give everyone the same options.)

Shitenshi
Mar 12, 2013
I wonder sometimes if Ike was stripped of his nifty abilities and left to fight on GBA FE's terms, if he would stand a chance against Ephraim given the weapon disadvantage. Ragnell is pretty sweet, but in this instance it would be like a glorified Light Brand.

Mister Olympus
Oct 31, 2011

Buzzard, Who Steals From Dead Bodies

Shitenshi posted:

I wonder sometimes if Ike was stripped of his nifty abilities and left to fight on GBA FE's terms, if he would stand a chance against Ephraim given the weapon disadvantage. Ragnell is pretty sweet, but in this instance it would be like a glorified Light Brand.

You can calculate this out with average stats at max level because the combat calculations are the same. The biggest problem is, despite the advantage, Ike is liable to double Ephraim. They'll both run right into their Speed caps (and Strength, and Skill...) but Ike's is just higher.

girl dick energy
Sep 30, 2009

You think you have the wherewithal to figure out my puzzle vagina?
Oh, Hippo, you are really dropping some cheeky hints, aren't you?

LordHippoman
May 30, 2013

I, frankly, want this smug Jagen to be my avatar on all forms of social media immediately.

Alxprit posted:

Monster maps are kind of like the "gaidens" of Sacred Stones, anyway.

Also, I think Blade weapons were in Radiant Dawn. And there were blade-type variants for lances and axes as well, if you had the strength to handle them. It was kind of interesting. (Also there was a generic javelin-type weapon for swords too. It seemed to really want to give everyone the same options.)

I always forget the Radiant Dawn stuff. That was my first FE (Well, that I played, I watched someone on YouTube play through all of FE7 first) but I don't remember nearly enough of it.

I remember Double Bow, at least.

PMush Perfect posted:

Oh, Hippo, you are really dropping some cheeky hints, aren't you?

:frog:

I spent like 20 minutes trying to come up with one of those. It originally said "Most Likely To Have A Turned Coat" but that was a little too on the nose.

Arbitrary Coin
Feb 17, 2012

:minnie: Cat Army :minnie:
2nd Battalion
Sacred Stones' plot and writing as a whole isn't anything special (pretty generic plot), but it holds a special place in my heart for certain side characters and some pretty great lines.

Also man Ephraim... So good. Great base stats, growths, cool rear end animations and introduces himself in a pretty great way. Pitty about the promotion...

Shiki Dan
Oct 27, 2010

If ya can move ya toes ya back's fine

Arbitrary Coin posted:

Sacred Stones' plot and writing as a whole isn't anything special (pretty generic plot), but it holds a special place in my heart for certain side characters and some pretty great lines.

Wouldn't that still count as "writing"?

I get that Fire Emblem's plots are bog standard generic fantasy stories at the best (only FE7 I would say actually has a somewhat interesting main story--simply because of the mystery surrounding the main antagonist and the fact that the game ISN'T about about fighting the EVIL EMPIRE or saving the world for the majority of the game), but Nintendo localization is top-notch and always adds a lot of flavor to even the most mundane scenes.
Such as this one in the update--at the core it's just evil Valter mumbling to hs evil subordinate about stuff, but even then the writer is able to draw out a good bit of character from what should otherwise be a pedestrian scene.
Even moreso in FE11, a game with a plot and characters that are as dull as dishwater, even manages to come up with some gems from throwaway characters ("Gaggles")--there's just not that much to work with in that game, however.

Arbitrary Coin
Feb 17, 2012

:minnie: Cat Army :minnie:
2nd Battalion

Shiki Dan posted:

Wouldn't that still count as "writing"?

I get that Fire Emblem's plots are bog standard generic fantasy stories at the best (only FE7 I would say actually has a somewhat interesting main story--simply because of the mystery surrounding the main antagonist and the fact that the game ISN'T about about fighting the EVIL EMPIRE or saving the world for the majority of the game), but Nintendo localization is top-notch and always adds a lot of flavor to even the most mundane scenes.
Such as this one in the update--at the core it's just evil Valter mumbling to hs evil subordinate about stuff, but even then the writer is able to draw out a good bit of character from what should otherwise be a pedestrian scene.
Even moreso in FE11, a game with a plot and characters that are as dull as dishwater, even manages to come up with some gems from throwaway characters ("Gaggles")--there's just not that much to work with in that game, however.

Yeah you're right. A better way to put it is that the overall plot isn't really invoative, but I do like what they done within the frame of a "save the world from monsters" rpg plot. SS is actually one of my favorites and I'm glad there are others who appreciate it too since it always seems to be one people forget about or disregard.

Like I dunno, (character talk) L'arachel is one of my favorite characters in the series. I legit think she works 10000x better than the kookier casts of 13 and 14 combined at times. It might be because there's more ground people to contrast her with, but she's always been endearing than obnoxious to me.

AradoBalanga
Jan 3, 2013

I am going to be upfront with this, I have never used Forde or Kyle past these early chapters. I always go with Franz and Amelia for my cavaliers, so Forde and Kyle get shunted to the corner. And if I want to use a third mounted unit, I either lean on Seth or Duessel to spread the cavalier love around. So yeah, their debut chapter is more or less "Forde and Kyle's Fun Time Zone", with Ephraim playing the third wheel in this scenario. Speaking of which, Ephraim does have one drawback compared to his sister: you only get one Reginleif in the entire game (outside of hacking/cheat codes), while Eirika will find a second Rapier later on for her to use.

Anyhew, given how some of the previous Fire Emblem LPs turn out, I look forward to seeing if our Christmas Cavaliers want to swap roles (read: Kyle hits the growths you'd expect Forde to hit and vice versa) for no explainable reason.

Shiki Dan
Oct 27, 2010

If ya can move ya toes ya back's fine
Forde and Kyle have the drawback of being the "balanced" stat growth characters in a game full of characters that have overall very good growths, albeit ones are more specialized.

So you have characters like Ross and Lute, who will always wreck poo poo, but need a few points in Skill/Speed in order to really get going, or characters like Franz and Tana who start off fragile but will quickly catch up as long as they get the Strength and Defense they need.

Forde and Kyle will just always be....okay. They also have the same problem as Eliwood in FE7--average bases and balanced growths mean that if they get screwed in any one stat, there's generally not that much that can be done to catch them up (you can waste stat boosters on them--but why make a mediocre unit just "okay" when you can make a good unit even better?).

However Cavs and Paladins are still absolutely invaluable in the midgame--where most of your units are still confined to 4-5 range and can't really rescue worth a drat. Even without Canto, horses are still valuable in this game.

Shiki Dan fucked around with this message at 05:21 on Jun 28, 2018

chiasaur11
Oct 22, 2012



Shiki Dan posted:

Wouldn't that still count as "writing"?

I get that Fire Emblem's plots are bog standard generic fantasy stories at the best (only FE7 I would say actually has a somewhat interesting main story--simply because of the mystery surrounding the main antagonist and the fact that the game ISN'T about about fighting the EVIL EMPIRE or saving the world for the majority of the game), but Nintendo localization is top-notch and always adds a lot of flavor to even the most mundane scenes.
Such as this one in the update--at the core it's just evil Valter mumbling to hs evil subordinate about stuff, but even then the writer is able to draw out a good bit of character from what should otherwise be a pedestrian scene.
Even moreso in FE11, a game with a plot and characters that are as dull as dishwater, even manages to come up with some gems from throwaway characters ("Gaggles")--there's just not that much to work with in that game, however.

8-4 localization gets a lot of the credit for 11's good lines. They also handled 13 and Echoes, so, pretty good track record on translating banter.

(Ephriam and Severa get a good little bit in Awakening's DLC.

"YOU...want to fight ME? Aren't you a little young to be throwing your life away?"

"...Aren't you a little old to be talking like some lackwit's brat?"

Of course, that also implies Ephriam is notably younger than Severa, which feels a little odd.)

Hunt11
Jul 24, 2013

Grimey Drawer
I can imagine all of the Awakening kids looking older then they actually are because of growing up in an almost literal hellscape.

chiasaur11
Oct 22, 2012



Hunt11 posted:

I can imagine all of the Awakening kids looking older then they actually are because of growing up in an almost literal hellscape.

Thinking about it, she probably is a few years older. Awakening's cast doesn't have specific ages by design, but the design docs put most of the cast somewhere in the early twenties range after the timeskip, Severa likely included.

Meanwhile, Ephraim and Eirika are probably in the same range as the FE7 lords, who were supposed to be 17 in the original release. (Localization put Lyn up at 18 in the main game.)

LordHippoman
May 30, 2013

I, frankly, want this smug Jagen to be my avatar on all forms of social media immediately.

vilkacis posted:

The great hero Axebeard McBeardaxe may have been forgotten by history, but his bloodline lives on!


Also dark magic is rad and I wish we got more giant gba druid robes.

I just realized I didn't put it in the OP. I will correct this oversight. (also agreed)


AradoBalanga posted:

Anyhew, given how some of the previous Fire Emblem LPs turn out, I look forward to seeing if our Christmas Cavaliers want to swap roles (read: Kyle hits the growths you'd expect Forde to hit and vice versa) for no explainable reason.

I have never really had Forde turn out to be anything other than what he is on the box. I got a weird God Kyle once, but I don't expect it to happen again.


chiasaur11 posted:

Of course, that also implies Ephriam is notably younger than Severa, which feels a little odd.)

Severa does seem like the kind of person who refers to everyone as "kid" or "punk" even if they're like, older than her. She's kind of a jerk like that.

Note: I did take a look at Serenes and through his supports, and it looks like Ephraim's age is never confirmed, aside from being the same as Eirika because, y'know, twins. Hilariously the only totally canon SS age is...Dozla at 47. Bless you, Dozla.

LordHippoman fucked around with this message at 13:13 on Jun 29, 2018

SonicRulez
Aug 6, 2013

GOTTA GO FIST
Ephraim is a great unit. Seeing how great he is makes me understand why some people think Eliwood should have been a lance lord. It would've completed the triangle if nothing else.

Darth TNT
Sep 20, 2013
I remember the first time I did this map. I immediately decided Orson was a Jeigan and thus unarmed him and used him as lure. I thought it was really neat that I was getting a second Seth.


chiasaur11 posted:

Yeah. She's a colorless flying dragon in Heroes. The only colorless melee unit in the game right now.

There's also a male version who's a green armored dragon.

Basically, the unit in Heroes is Grima's avatar, but glowing and they attack with a giant dragon head. Like you do.

Okay, this isn't nearly as bad as I expected it to be. For a moment I expected another Awakening Nowi except dark skinned.


PMush Perfect posted:

Oh, Hippo, you are really dropping some cheeky hints, aren't you?
Isn't that why we're here though? :allears:



I absolutely can't distinguish between FE numbers. FE11 is what again? Can we please just refer to them with title shorthands?

Arbitrary Coin posted:

Yeah you're right. A better way to put it is that the overall plot isn't really invoative, but I do like what they done within the frame of a "save the world from monsters" rpg plot. SS is actually one of my favorites and I'm glad there are others who appreciate it too since it always seems to be one people forget about or disregard.

Like I dunno, (character talk) L'arachel is one of my favorite characters in the series. I legit think she works 10000x better than the kookier casts of 13 and 14 combined at times. It might be because there's more ground people to contrast her with, but she's always been endearing than obnoxious to me.
See, this is a poster I can talk to. SS is also one of my favorites.
I like the units, I like the story (as simple as it is, sometimes you don't need a complex story to tell a good one), I like how some of the units get more background and I like how the characters aren't just their primary characteristic. (though Kellam is still hilarious to me) Sacred Stones is just a very charming package deal.

LordHippoman
May 30, 2013

I, frankly, want this smug Jagen to be my avatar on all forms of social media immediately.

Darth TNT posted:

I absolutely can't distinguish between FE numbers. FE11 is what again? Can we please just refer to them with title shorthands?

11 is Shadow Dragon. This is a problem I have in real life, tbh. I refer to them all via their number and my friends who aren't quite as dorky about these games as I am don't know what the gently caress I'm on about.


SonicRulez posted:

Ephraim is a great unit. Seeing how great he is makes me understand why some people think Eliwood should have been a lance lord. It would've completed the triangle if nothing else.

I'd be down with Lanceliwood. Maybe in the inevitable FE7 Rema-no, still probably not.

vilkacis
Feb 16, 2011

LordHippoman posted:

Ephraim’s plan is literally “this is so dumb they will NEVER see it coming”

I see a lot of people interpreting it that way, but I always took it more as every soldier being sent to comb the countryside and no one thinking the castle will be attacked means they've left the place understaffed to the point where a small elite force attacking by surprise can overrun it.

Ephraim is kind of a meathead, but he's not "I'm just going to do the dumbest thing imaginable" levels of meathead.

(And "What harm could a little reckless besieging cause?" is another great line.)


Alxprit posted:

Monster maps are kind of like the "gaidens" of Sacred Stones, anyway.

I wouldn't go that far. Gaidens are generally unique maps with some story to them.


Shitenshi posted:

I wonder sometimes if Ike was stripped of his nifty abilities and left to fight on GBA FE's terms, if he would stand a chance against Ephraim given the weapon disadvantage. Ragnell is pretty sweet, but in this instance it would be like a glorified Light Brand.

It'd depend on how Ike's stats are converted for gba caps. But Ephraim's pretty screwed since "glorified light brand" still means he can't counter on Ike's turns.

If I was going to pick a lance user to go up against Ike, I'd go with Camus.


Shiki Dan posted:

Forde and Kyle will just always be....okay.

Great knight Kyle is like... two points behind berserker Ross in str and two ahead in speed and def.

Nuramor
Dec 13, 2012

Most Amewsing Prinny Ever!
I don't get the line about the time traveller. Whats that about?

girl dick energy
Sep 30, 2009

You think you have the wherewithal to figure out my puzzle vagina?

vilkacis posted:

I see a lot of people interpreting it that way, but I always took it more as every soldier being sent to comb the countryside and no one thinking the castle will be attacked means they've left the place understaffed to the point where a small elite force attacking by surprise can overrun it.
A plan which will only work because it's such an absurd idea that they didn't think to worry that they were overextending. If they thought there was the smallest possibility this might happen, they'd have guarded it just a little better.

Rigged Death Trap
Feb 13, 2012

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

Nuramor posted:

I don't get the line about the time traveller. Whats that about?

chiasaur11 posted:

8-4 localization gets a lot of the credit for 11's good lines. They also handled 13 and Echoes, so, pretty good track record on translating banter.

(Ephriam and Severa get a good little bit in Awakening's DLC.

"YOU...want to fight ME? Aren't you a little young to be throwing your life away?"

"...Aren't you a little old to be talking like some lackwit's brat?"

Of course, that also implies Ephriam is notably younger than Severa, which feels a little odd.)

Severa is a child character that came from the future, Trunks style.

Rabbi Raccoon
Mar 31, 2009

I stabbed you dude!
This is probably my favorite chapter in the game. It’s walks that line between hard and fun really well

LordHippoman
May 30, 2013

I, frankly, want this smug Jagen to be my avatar on all forms of social media immediately.

Nuramor posted:

I don't get the line about the time traveller. Whats that about?

Fire Emblem Heroes has these Voting Gauntlets, where you can play matches to win points for your chosen character in a tournament style thing. The very first one was Prince/ss themed, and there was an EXTREMELY close match between Ephraim and Chrom from Awakening.

Ephraim won, barely...only to get absolutely eviscerated by Chrom's time traveling daughter, Lucina, in the finals.

Sydin
Oct 29, 2011

Another spring commute

LordHippoman posted:

Ephraim won, barely...only to get absolutely eviscerated by Chrom's time traveling daughter, Lucina, in the finals.

If people thought FE7 Luna was OP, they should see the power of Awakening/Fates waifus.

FoolyCharged
Oct 11, 2012
Probation
Can't post for 3 hours!
This chapter is cool because, lacking erika, there's no supply convoy.

So the map is packed with powerful gear and you have to juggle it around while trying to not use the good stuff too much.

Shiki Dan
Oct 27, 2010

If ya can move ya toes ya back's fine

vilkacis posted:

Great knight Kyle is like... two points behind berserker Ross in str and two ahead in speed and def.

Kyle is also behind Ross in 30% crit in...every single battle. Berserker is a good class.
Also Great Knight is a bad class. Compared to Paladin you get +2con and D-rank Axes in exchange for Armor weakness and -2 Move? Terrible.

golden bubble
Jun 3, 2011

yospos

Since FE:Heroes chat has already infested this thread, I'll say that Ephraim has some sweet voice lines in that game:

"Trust me. I don't pick fights I can't win."

There's also voiced lines for Erika:

"It's best to resolve conflict without fighting. When possible."

"If this is war, so be it."

"My friend Lyon had an aptitude for magic…"

"My brother has no aptitude for magic."

golden bubble fucked around with this message at 18:43 on Jun 28, 2018

Silver Falcon
Dec 5, 2005

Two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight and barbecue your own drumsticks!

chiasaur11 posted:

8-4 localization gets a lot of the credit for 11's good lines. They also handled 13 and Echoes, so, pretty good track record on translating banter.

(Ephriam and Severa get a good little bit in Awakening's DLC.

"YOU...want to fight ME? Aren't you a little young to be throwing your life away?"

"...Aren't you a little old to be talking like some lackwit's brat?"

Of course, that also implies Ephriam is notably younger than Severa, which feels a little odd.)

Not necessarily. That line still works if she's addressing someone who's a little younger or a little older than she is (but still too young to throw his life away).

girl dick energy
Sep 30, 2009

You think you have the wherewithal to figure out my puzzle vagina?
:iceburn:

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Saladin Rising
Nov 12, 2016

When there is no real hope we must
mint our own. If the coin be
counterfeit it may still be passed.

LordHippoman posted:

There we go. These maps are called “Gaiden Chapters”. Typically they’re optional side-chapters unlocked after fulfilling some set of hidden requirements. FE7 was full of them, and they would fill out a hidden side story.

Sacred Stones doesn’t do any of that. This is basically just Chapter 6, but it’s...different. It’s required, and it’s the only gaiden in the game.
The lack of gaiden chapters is honestly one of the biggest issues I have with Sacred Stones, since it makes an already short game even shorter. Yeah there are the various monster battles and stuff like the tower of Valni, but doing any of those battles will obliterate what little difficulty curve the game has. It's a shame, because I like pretty much everything else about Sacred Stones.

Rabbi Raccoon posted:

This is probably my favorite chapter in the game. It's walks that line between hard and fun really well
Yeah 5x is a really good balance, I wish they'd done multiple gaiden chapters from Ephraim's perspective like this one. That would also have helped to lengthen the game without having to redo the level curve.

Saladin Rising fucked around with this message at 20:57 on Jun 28, 2018

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