ThirdMan wrote:
12/03 - Fire Emblem Heroes (Android)
Just the vanilla story (chapters 1-8). I'm not sure if I'll return for the DLC or the other game modes. It was my first introduction to the Fire Emblem series. I enjoyed the grid-based strategy and the weapons triangle system but the setting and characters were awful. I realise that the story is just a device to roll out all of the classic heroes from the series, so I don't blame the game for not being able to engage me in that regard. It's fan service and that's fine, especially for a free-to-play game. However the issue with the setting runs deeper than that for me. That whole Norse infused Japanese fantasy thing just does not work. Japanese writers and artists have conjured up some extraordinarily imaginative worlds in the past, across various mediums, but that particular theme or trend is a total misstep. Anyway, not much discussion of the actual game here but that just tells you how turned off I am by the whole thing. It's a shame because I've just been given a free copy of Awakening and had been looking forward to getting stuck in just as soon as I pick up a 3DS. Now I'm not so sure.
PLEASE don't let Heroes turn you off on the series. I've watched my wife play it and t's entirely unrepresentative of it.
Also, Awakening can be turned into a major grindfest and has almost no interesting map objectives. I ended up really disliking it and am currently forcing myself to finish it.
Of all the Western localised FE games, Path of Radiance on 'Cube and Radiant Dawn on Wii still remain my favourites, even though the polygonal graphics aren't too hot (especially not in Path of Radiance). The underlying systems are complex and engaging, the map and objective design is amazing and varied (especially in Radiant Dawn), the story is equally engaging and because there are no opportunities to grind (like in most old school FE games), positioning your units in such a way that you can optimise their 'experience gain', and the accompanying risk, is just as much a part of the tactics as winning the battle. It really forces you to think. By fulfilling certain map conditions, you can increase gained bonus experience, which you can use to compensate for certain units lagging behind.
As far as the setting is concerned, that's fair enough, but up until the more trendy Awakening, I personally found the Japanese approach to Western-styled medieval fantasy the series exhibited very charming. It reminded me of classic mangas like Record of Lodoss War and the likes. The writing and the character development in the Radiant games have enough depth to it that it kept me engaged enough as far as video game stories go.
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