A couple weeks later and I finally started Ch 25. Not sure why this one is so tough to finish.
I think it's the between battle stuff getting tedious. The combat really is the best it's ever been and I love the actual fights.
This is where I am with the game. I actually just loathe the between battle stuff. And I really hate the fact that it matters to my party’s success whether I have a Silver Axe+1 or a Silver Axe+2.
Even if you don’t do most of the Somniel activities it’s hard to shake the notion that if you don’t go for those little buffs that it might be the difference between victory and defeat.
I’ve beaten the Binding Blade (the unreleased in the US GBA game) twice. A game which is roundly considered one of the harder entries in the series. I’ve beaten Blazing Blade (the first US GBA game) 7 or 8 times. I found those experiences far more enjoyable, because what you were managing was XP and weapons in the end.
I’m becoming very tempted to just turn the difficulty back to Normal and completely ignore the Somniel. I’m not sure I’ll get through this otherwise. Right now my attention is on Advance Wars Reboot Camp and I’m enjoying that a lot more.
I put the game on hold so I could wrap up Tales of Arise for the JRPG club, but like Stele, I have not had a huge urge to return to this game, even though I love this series. The downtime between battles just really messed with the pace and makes it feel like the tactical battles hinge not on my tactical decisions, but whether I upgraded correctly and made food or whatever.
I played straight through echos, but have had trouble keeping momentum on fates, three houses, and now engage.
I was trying to finish Ch 25 last night and it's just endless reinforcements coming behind me. I think I'm going to have to reload a save or rewind a few turns and just rush the final group. I was trying to cover the rear but my team is still too split up and I don't have enough firepower at the front.
I can either stop and fight the adds forever or try to beat the dumb thing, I think.
I put the game on hold so I could wrap up Tales of Arise for the JRPG club, but like Stele, I have not had a huge urge to return to this game, even though I love this series. The downtime between battles just really messed with the pace and makes it feel like the tactical battles hinge not on my tactical decisions, but whether I upgraded correctly and made food or whatever.
I played straight through echos, but have had trouble keeping momentum on fates, three houses, and now engage.
What difficulty level are you on? This is the same issue I've had and I'm considering just going down to Normal and finishing the game. Otherwise I don't think I'll ever finish it.
I am paying on hard, since Three Houses normal was a cakewalk. I think I need to turn off my optimization brain to play fire emblem now, which is disheartening.
I am paying on hard, since Three Houses normal was a cakewalk. I think I need to turn off my optimization brain to play fire emblem now, which is disheartening.
You most certainly do have to turn off that part of your brain now, IMO. With all of the GBA and DS games the resources you had to manage were limited XP and money (due to weapons breaking). Those were the main resources and it was easy to optimize, because the systems were limited.
The big issue with modern Fire Emblem, in my opinion, is that there are just too many systems. So many systems that they have to gear the difficulty lower and provide you multiple ways to optimize, less you get burned out by all of the systems. This has the effect of making the game feel simultaneously like it’s really important to optimize (because “why would those systems be there otherwise?”) and like there is actually no reason to optimize, so “why do any of this?”
In this conundrum I throw up my hands, google which systems really matter and ignore the rest. At least with Three Houses I got through 3 playthroughs before I couldn’t stomach the Monastery any longer.
Stele wrote:Oh sh*t Ch 17. I may have to restart. Or let someone die.
2 hours later and still not done. I got out of the jam I was in then thought I had it, killed one of the multiple bosses and nope, I lost a unit.
Rewind, lost a different unit.
Rewind, didn't kill boss with counter and lost a different unit.
Gah. I might have to load my save from a few turns ago, but tomorrow.
This was the first time hard is really hard.
Just got here. I’m probably going to bump it down to Normal, to be honest.
And there's me at chapter 14 thinking to myself "man the rewind kind of breaks the permadeath mechanic, which makes the cavalcade of characters the game bestows upon you pointless."
And there's me at chapter 14 thinking to myself "man the rewind kind of breaks the permadeath mechanic"
:)
You’re not wrong. That’s not mutually exclusive. I wish I had chosen Hard/Casual.
Hard/Casual is the way. 
Hard/Casual is a good balance, though I ended up only using the dozen or so characters I actually put effort into levelling up.
I definitely think it is the way. In part because of IS’s design decisions. The Time Crystal combined with the difficulty of the game sends mixed signals about permadeath. So why not just disable it?
I know I’ve said this before, so apologies, but I believe Intelligent Systems has designed a game, in Engage, that isn’t very mechanically cohesive. Some of the systems are confusing, at cross purposes with each other. Others are less important than they seem or have been in previous entries.
For example skirmishes seem to function contrary to almost every entry since Sacred Stones. In previous entries skirmishes were a way to grind or catch up underleveled units or units that started one level under base. Almost every game since then has trained us to use skirmishes to grind or level these units. Meanwhile in an Engage skirmishes are scaled to your strongest unit, meaning most people can’t use them as expected. Paralogues even more so. In fact, I don’t quite understand the point of these types of levels, honestly. Outside of just providing extra content.
So in a game that’s far more difficult than Three Houses and doesn’t offer meaningful ways to level up the underpowered units, grinding is seemingly unavailable. Given that and that the only purpose of the Time Crystal seems to be to add a half step towards Casual, I don’t see a reason not to just go Casual. At least then you have a shot at using skirmishes. The game is too frustrating and mechanically incoherent to make this slight difference worth worrying about.
I know I’ve said this before, so apologies, but I believe Intelligent Systems has designed a game, in Engage, that isn’t very mechanically cohesive. Some of the systems are confusing, at cross purposes with each other. Others are less important than they seem or have been in previous entries.
You don't say.
Yeah, there are bits of the system that I adore, but also bits that don't really work with the other bits, as you've observed.
For example skirmishes seem to function contrary to almost every entry since Sacred Stones. In previous entries skirmishes were a way to grind or catch up underleveled units or units that started one level under base. Almost every game since then has trained us to use skirmishes to grind or level these units. Meanwhile in an Engage skirmishes are scaled to your strongest unit, meaning most people can’t use them as expected. Paralogues even more so. In fact, I don’t quite understand the point of these types of levels, honestly. Outside of just providing extra content.
The highest difficulty levels limit the number of skirmishes you can do. I'm not sure if that's better or worse.
The highest difficulty levels limit the number of skirmishes you can do. I'm not sure if that's better or worse.
I think overall in a more cohesive design it could be for the better. If they removed grinding then they could design each difficulty level for a set amount of available XP and clean up the confusing systems.
Pages