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    Fire Emblem

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    A strategy RPG franchise developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo. It is known for its emphasis on character development and concept of permanent character death.

    i caught the Fire Emblem bug, so where should i start?

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    jediknight00719

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    #1  Edited By jediknight00719

    So Patrick has been hyping Fire Emblem quite a bit. When i did some research on Fire Emblem i found out it was made by Intelligent System who i think is one of the best game developers in the business (one of Nintendo's strongest assets).

    So i wanted to ask the community, where should i start? Should i play the first one (which i am assume is on the GBA) or can i start where ever i want. I'm not sure if i should get the 2 GBA games and start from there (they are apparently really hard to get and quite expensive on ebay) or if i can jump to the ds or 3ds version. Is knowing the story of the previous games pivotal to the newer games. Just wondering if its worth paying $25 each to go through Fire Emblem and Fire Emblem Sacred Stones on GBA first.

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    FluxWaveZ

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    #2  Edited By FluxWaveZ

    Check this post. It seems pretty helpful for where to go in the series.

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    snowninja845

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    #3  Edited By snowninja845

    The story isn't consistent between games with them being in different places and such. So you don't have to play the other ones to get a good grasp of things, so the one for the 3DS should be fine.

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    Hungry

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    #4  Edited By Hungry

    From what I understand of Fire Emblem, the stories are pretty loosely connected, except for a couple like FE6 and 7, so your starting point doesn't matter much story-wise. I really like the original North American Fire Emblem for Game Boy Advance. Sacred Stones is one of the easier games because you can grind out a bit in-between chapters and I just feel some of the fights overall were easier. Shadow Dragon, the remake/first release of the original game on DS is pretty enjoyable too, as well as Path of Radiance on the Gamecube. I've also played Fire Emblem 6 which was enjoyable, but you'll have to be a bit more clever in finding a way to play that game.

    I have never really found a Fire Emblem game anything less than enjoyable, so really just take a pick. Awakening is reason number like 8 I need to get a 3DS.

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    Flappy

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    #5  Edited By Flappy

    For the most part, each game has self-contained stories (There are some exceptions. 7 is a prequel to 6 and 12 is a sequel to 11, which was a remake of the first game. There's a wiki for this sort of thing.) Since 7 was the first one localized on the GBA, I'd say it's a good place to start. It's not too difficult and the game spends an adequate amount of time making sure that you know what you're doing. Sacred Stones (8) is also a good entry, albeit a bit on the "easy" side due to certain mechanics. Oh yeah! The GBA titles have nice spritework that later gets replaced by weird 3D models in the DS games, so that may or may not be a turn off for ya.

    I almost feel like there's an expert on this subject (Read as:

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    ArbitraryWater

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    #6  Edited By ArbitraryWater

    Really, any of the previous titles to reach the west are accessible to newbies, with Radiant Dawn as the glaring exception, being both a direct sequel to Path of Radiance and also having a surprisingly difficult opening act. I'd also advise you don't start with Shadow Dragon, not because it's absurdly difficult or anything, but more the part where it's kind of bland in comparison to the rest of the series. If you don't want to spend the kind of money on 8-10 year old games, I get the impression that Awakening is a perfectly fine introduction to the series.

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    Hailinel

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    #7  Edited By Hailinel

    If you have a 3DS, you should just go ahead and start with Awakening at this point. Early western reviews point to it being an excellent entry, it has great difficulty selection variety, and from what I've seen the best variety of combat and relationship features of any game in the series to date. Failing that, I'd start with either Fire Emblem or Sacred Stones on the GBA or Path of Radiance on the GameCube.

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    angouri

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    #8  Edited By angouri

    I really liked The Sacred Stones on GBA, but I would just jump into the new one if you don't have a gameboy around. The Wii one is a sequel to the GC one, and the other GBA ones were... ok. Fire Emblem never had a gripping story IMO.

    If you want a tactics game though, unsung heroes are LOH: Trails in the Sky and Valkyria Chronicles.

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    DudeSupreme

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    #9  Edited By DudeSupreme

    Path of Radiance for the GameCube feels like its the easiest game (bonus EXP you can store up, merchants between missions, and super powerful characters in the end game) so I would start with that. Its also one of the few great games for the GC.

    If you dont have a GC, I would recommend The Sacred Stones. Again, it feels a bit easier than Fire Emblem (not that it is super easy!), allows you to somewhat grind out a bit more exp between story battles, and has a bit more replay value since you can go through it once with each main character.

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    TheFatalWound

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    #10  Edited By TheFatalWound

    I always loved the GBA ones (They still hold up imo, I play em on an emulator from time to time), I never cared for the console versions. I loved the 2D style much much more. I'd recommend checking 'em out on an emulator, since you can do things like play an English patched FE6 that never released in NA (I think that's the one with Roy?). That one was very very short, but intensely fast paced. Constantly introduced new characters, and shit happened at breakneck speed.

    The Sacred Stones is technically a superior game in terms of features, but I liked the characters in 7 more. Sacred Stones has places to grind, which I did obsessively (even healers, I literally got everyone up to max potential and unlocked all hidden characters). Also, the 3 different campaigns in 7 were vastly varied and I loved each one for their own reasons.

    From the sounds of it, Awakening will be a great entry point, but from there, I highly recommend the GBA ones. I don't much like the console versions, but other people do, and I'd assume they're fine.

    By the way, please don't play on casual mode. I understand the appeal to some, but so much of the game is about permadeath. Even though I just restarted missions when people died. Didn't have the heart to see them go, I remember feeling crushed when I let Florina die the same mission that we found her other sister :/ I did restart the mission, but it was sort of the moment where shit hit home and I was like oh fuck, I goofed hard. Oh, and by the way, if you have the option to upgrade somrone, max them out in original form first. They become beasts of a whole new level if you do.

    Edit: Also, the camaraderie in FE7 is SO FUCKING GOOD. I loved that group of people. I liked the Sacred Stones people, but that was for different reasons.

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    jediknight00719

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    #11  Edited By jediknight00719

    lot of great info, thanks guys!

    Think i will start the new 3ds version.

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    toowalrus

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    #12  Edited By toowalrus

    I've never played a Fire Emblem game either. I'm just going to pick up the new one.

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