Fire Emblem Fates (If)

So, I already know there is kind of a Fire Emblem Thread, but I figured I would make one for Fates because
a) The game comes out on Friday; and
b) I didn't want to bump a thread that no one had posted in since June or July.

I want to know which/if game you guys plan on going with. I have never beat a Fire Emblem game, but I can't explain why. I have always enjoyed the ones that I have played. For this reason, I am a little hesitant to drop $60 for the pair. At the same time, I feel that $60 is extremely reasonable for two full games.

If I do decide to pick up just one of the games, I think I would go with Birthright. I am also debating on picking up a physical copy of the game or just going with digital. What do you think?

Got Conquest pre-ordered. Probably gonna end up buying the DL for Birthright once I finish it.

"Full game" is a stretch since the true story path is neither of them, so you're selecting just by preference atm since I don't know if the third path is even available at release(The choosing your side thing is pretty pointless when you think about it). Birthright is Awakening 2 basically: Non-linearity, easy maps with simple, repeated objectives and the life sim bonus.

I gotta say, there's surprisingly little information explaining the differences between the versions online.

@Celestial: I am only going off what I have heard from people who have had access to the game already. From what I understand, the first 6 chapters are identical and then it splits off from there. Also, the 3rd storyline won't be available until March 9th or so as DLC, unless you happened to score a special edition of the game.

@Taiyz: Nintendo Minute is doing a series on Fire Emblem Fates. Their first video was an unboxing of the special edition and of the special New 3DS Fire Emblem Fates model. However, the second video is about how the hosts are playing different paths and some of the differences between them. If you got 22ish minutes to kill, it is not a bad video. Although the guy's beard is weird to me. It's like he grew a goatee and then decided he wanted a beard, without trimming his goatee to match. Weird thing of me to focus on, but having a beard myself I like to look at other men's beards. I digress. Here is the link to the second video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svpyO0girN4

Conquest would be best described as Birthright's opposite in features: Linear story-based gameplay, difficult maps with varied objectives; somewhat a homage to old FE style. I've already decided to skip this one after watching the translated playthroughs.

Birthright:
The option to grind for money and can grind between chapters.
Story nowhere near as linear.
Overall difficulty is much more forgiving.
Is like Awakening in regards to certain game design choices. I.E. World map is more open.

Conquest:
Stylized to be feel more old school.
Maps were designed to be harder.
Money is a scarcity and I believe leveling between chapters isn't possible.

In regards to Revelations which comes out in about a month it's supposed to be much more similar in design to Birthright (doing things between chapters), BUT has Conquest's difficulty (maps). Apparently you can get the full character roster too?

Here's a list showing which characters you get depending on the version you choose:
http://fireemblem.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_characters_in_Fire_Emblem_Fates

That aside I personally went with Birthright first because of the characters. I'm also hoping they stick to doing a single version of a game after this. Experimentation is fine, but honestly this kind of thing does not work for Fire Emblem. >.>

Getting Birthright. I just hope Europe will get a release date soon ;w;

Suikoden wrote:

Birthright:
In regards to Revelations which comes out in about a month it's supposed to be much more similar in design to Birthright (doing things between chapters), BUT has Conquest's difficulty (maps). Apparently you can get the full character roster too?

Revelations ties the two games together. You want to complete Birthright and Conquest first, otherwise it will spoil whatever game you didn't play.

This whole setup is dumb and confusing and I wish Nintendo just made it one game instead.

Yes, I know who made the "games," but Nintendo owns them and approved this stupid set up.

Hook-line-and-sinker, Prinny, with a game series that emphasizes on waifu/husbandos no less. It's a marketing tactic. I think wanting different pairings is more desired than finding different pokemon. Yes, it is pointless.

A Something Awful member made this nice character analysis after playing through both games (and Revelations) on Lunatic difficulty. It does have some spoilers so look carefully. https://imgur.com/a/jBF7A

He said the two games do not share much content, and each game is about as long as Awakening. That's not the first time I've heard that so its probably true. There's no technical reason for the games to be separate so I consider buying the complete game the "Nintendo Tax."

Could someone explain Celestial's waifu/husband comment without spoiling anything? Is marrying people in Fire Emblem a relatively new thing? The only Fire Emblem games I have played some of are the Sacred Stones and the one on the Gamecube, whose name I can't remember.

Marriage is something not new in Fire Emblem. Originally, it was restricted to special endings based on support levels. Awakening has imbued it into standard gameplay; a time travel plot device/excuse, then the option to recruit the couples' future children, which are essentially the strongest units in the game. This is in Fates as well, and their "excuse" for children units is even more ridiculous than Awakening's. As for my comment, I'm typically expressing cynicism in FE's new direction mainly due to the newfound popularity in the marriage system and shipping units like you're playing dollhouse.

I forget which FE introduced the marriage mid-game/children unit element, but it was not Awakening that's for sure.

Prinny wrote:

A Something Awful member made this nice character analysis after playing through both games (and Revelations) on Lunatic difficulty. It does have some spoilers so look carefully. https://imgur.com/a/jBF7A

He said the two games do not share much content, and each game is about as long as Awakening. That's not the first time I've heard that so its probably true. There's no technical reason for the games to be separate so I consider buying the complete game the "Nintendo Tax."

I don't deny how varied both games are, I mean, I listed them in a quick summary. From a story standpoint though and those expecting the full adventure, or true path from the initial purchase, it's a kick in the nads. The playthroughs I've watched though: the guy was skilled enough and made both games look about as half as long as Awakening as he pretty much blazed through the maps.

Thanks Celestial. I still think I am going to give Birthright a shot. It seems interesting enough to me, especially as one who hasn't played a whole lot of Fire Emblem but enough to know that I enjoy the gameplay.

Gameplay is solid in Fates, very solid. I'm sure you will like it. I just can't bring myself tolerating the characters, English dub, and the plot nowadays. It's like playing through Grandia 3 or Star Ocean 3/4 again. This leaves me conflicted as I love both gameplay and character design/good writing.

So apparently this new Fire Emblem is more Pokémon than just face-fondling. Apparently support conversations are maintained in a log that you can re-watch at any time, even after going NG+ so you can watch different ones.

Gotta wife 'em all, Emblemmon!

The more I hear about this game, the weirder it gets.

FE is a pretty niche series, and more so with the new direction. If you're a fan of Japanese pop culture, you'll likely hop on this game's bandwagon.

Fire Emblem? Niche? Uhhhhh...

Care to explain yourself? I wanna share a video that helps my point anyways. It is a rather humorous watch.

lol

GAF thread is up. LOTS of good info there. Should answer everyone's questions. http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1186046

Taiyz wrote:

So apparently this new Fire Emblem is more Pokémon than just face-fondling. Apparently support conversations are maintained in a log that you can re-watch at any time, even after going NG+ so you can watch different ones.

Gotta wife 'em all, Emblemmon!

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't this a feature since like... Fire Emblem 8, at the very least? I distinctly remember there being a menu where you could watch all the supports you had gotten in any previous save files.

Edit: Yeah, I found a video of it too. On the other hand, I don't remember a menu like this in the Tellius games...

The hours are just DRAGGING by...

Celestial Phoenix wrote:

Care to explain yourself? I wanna share a video that helps my point anyways. It is a rather humorous watch.

It might be niche for a Nintendo game, but Fire Emblem is still pretty big BECAUSE it's a Nintendo franchise.

It's also almost the only consistent SRPG series that actually comes to America, so it kinda has the market cornered. (Does anybody care about NIS games anymore?)

Prochainezo wrote:

Taiyz wrote:

So apparently this new Fire Emblem is more Pokémon than just face-fondling. Apparently support conversations are maintained in a log that you can re-watch at any time, even after going NG+ so you can watch different ones.

Gotta wife 'em all, Emblemmon!

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't this a feature since like... Fire Emblem 8, at the very least? I distinctly remember there being a menu where you could watch all the supports you had gotten in any previous save files.

Edit: Yeah, I found a video of it too. On the other hand, I don't remember a menu like this in the Tellius games...

So it's existed before, but not in every game since 8?

I think my problem is that, uh, I haven't actually bothered to finish a Fire Emblem game yet, and a quick search revealed to me that you have to beat the game first to unlock the Support Log. It may also only be present in 7, 8 and the 3DS games. My bad!