Fire Emblem Echoes

[Zanryu]

Alright, so I was hoping to do this last night but things happened and I was indisposed - however, I know a guy who is a REALLY stand up dude and in a pretty good position, which is really fortunate for me. Said individual sent me a message regarding my preordered copy of Echoes and an indication I could pick it up early. So, obviously I did.
Will be booting up in a few minutes and will be touching base before bed with my first impressions on the improvements and story embellishments. Really looking forward to this and I hope its as great as I'm expecting. Shame about the DLC structuring but hey, it isn't necessary anyways.

EDIT: Haven't even gotten into playing yet but I have to say, the dub is standard fare for anime, but initial impression isn't awful. The introductory animation leading to the title screen is EXQUISITE.

EDIT 2: Prologue is a really good way to get a feel for the characters and their personalities, and really sets the tone of the story, IMO.
Also, unless your unit dodges you will receive at least 1HP of damage - I can't recall if this was a thing in Gaiden, but it adds a bit of a challenge. Taking into account the atrocious hit rates, not being able to just stone-wall with a high defense character really shifts the meta compared to more recent titles.

EDIT 3: Some standard JRPG tropes in regards to Alm/Celica interaction, but their bond is definitely sweet despite the sap. Extra backstory concerning Rigelian/Zofian conflict helps get you really invested, and exploring Ram Village got me a little bit of loot, as well as some unnecessary tidbits of info. Helps to flesh out the village and its inhabitants just a bit. Nice touch.

EDIT 4: Alm can access Convoy mid-battle like Lords of recent games, Provisions is essentially the Edible Convoy - not quite sure why they were split... ease of access? Regardless, introductions to conflicts so far are great - the group is learning, but Alm is reckless with good intentions. A genuinely kind person, and determined to prove himself not only to others, but to himself.

[Swift_Assassin]

I hate that I'm tight on money right now. I won't be able to get my hands on this until sometime in June.

[Zanryu]

(05-19-2017, 12:17 PM)Swift_Assassin Wrote: I hate that I'm tight on money right now. I won't be able to get my hands on this until sometime in June.

If I could afford another copy I'd have one on its way to you tonight man, its so good so far. Can't wait to get back to it tonight.

[Swift_Assassin]

Well, just got my hours for next week, so if the following weeks hours are just as good as next weeks, I could probably get it during the first full week of June, courtesy of time and a half on Memorial day.

[Zanryu]

(05-19-2017, 06:26 PM)Swift_Assassin Wrote: Well, just got my hours for next week, so if the following weeks hours are just as good as next weeks, I could probably get it during the first full week of June, courtesy of time and a half on Memorial day.

Here's hoping, brother. Honestly, the one complaint I have isn't even related to the game itself, but the fact I didn't study growths and characters like I usually do, and I hadn't played Gaiden in so long either. So now I have two pegasus knights that I didn't need to have, but they're wicked so far so no big.

[Sui-kun]

I'd comment here, but I'd been too busy actually playing the game heh. It's been a while since I played a real Fire Emblem game (I skipped Fates) so I'd enjoy this regardless. I really appreciate Mila's Turnwheel. Playing on Hard mode, I'd make some stupid mistakes once in a while that I was able to fix. There was one case, however, when Mila's Turnwheel did not avail me. Python was killed in the very first turn and I had no chance to avoid it. It's unfortunate, but the misfortune of war is part of the experience.

Otherwise, love it! I do think the emphasis on the villagers is a little too much compared to the emphasis on other recruits. I also noticed a distinct lack of classic Fire Emblem mechanics including: enemy reinforcements, fort defense, recruiting units mid-battle, and conversations between enemy units (not Supports). I don't know, but in previous Fire Emblem games, I liked how the plot actually happened on the map rather than inbetween maps. That's pretty much the design difference I did not favor.

[Swift_Assassin]

(05-19-2017, 07:05 PM)Zanryu Wrote:

(05-19-2017, 06:26 PM)Swift_Assassin Wrote: Well, just got my hours for next week, so if the following weeks hours are just as good as next weeks, I could probably get it during the first full week of June, courtesy of time and a half on Memorial day.

Here's hoping, brother. Honestly, the one complaint I have isn't even related to the game itself, but the fact I didn't study growths and characters like I usually do, and I hadn't played Gaiden in so long either. So now I have two pegasus knights that I didn't need to have, but they're wicked so far so no big.

Okay. So it won't be this week, but definitely next paycheck. I could technically get it now with my credit card, but I'd rather wait to next week. This time next week, my paycheck should be in and I should be in the middle of downloading the game.

[Swift_Assassin]

Okay, double post. I'm pretty much the only person posting on the board on atm but whatever but I'm really liking the game right now. Just completed the first shrine, so I'm not that far in, but I really like how it's not just a cookie-cutter clone of Fates. After spending over 100 hours on Fates, atleast 53 hours into my last Revelation playthrough I'm happy about that. I didn't really look into a whole lot before it. Like I said, I've been terrible the last few months on keeping up with release dates, so I didn't even know about the kinda rpg aspects that seems to have spawned from the My Castle exploration from Fates.

I haven't ventured to get the DLC just yet, so I don't know how those are.

[Toogee]

Now that I finished the game, I can say stuff. I was thrown off by the mechanics (no weapon triangle, class upgrades are weird), but I'm happy with it. I'm really forward to more remakes with this quality. Especially the Elibe games.

Also the credits song is great: "The Heritors of Arcadia" (lyrics are possibly spoilers)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzKptJ9VIiE

[Swift_Assassin]

I'm on act 4 right now. I never played Gaiden, so I didn't know that it happened around the same time as FE 1/3. For those at that part, you probably know who I just recruited. Trying to be as spoiler-free as possible.

[Zanryu]

Honestly, I got to Act 2 and haven't had the luxury of spare time to continue but man, still blown away by this game. Hoping to get some time to play this weekend, have a Quebec holiday on Saturday I should be able to enjoy some downtime with.

[Rock]

Bought it on release day, I haven't played it at all...