Author Topic: Fire Emblem: Shadows of Valentia - Echos - The Fire Emblem we waited for!  (Read 22188 times)

Kilgamayan

  • True
  • *
  • The Real Treasure Is You
    • Let's Play Super Marisa World
Everything has always been either two or three times for me.

Spoiler:
Though I wasn't able to check the usage of the water of revival, since no one was dead...
[22:40:12] <Drake> "guys i donwloaded esod but its not workan"
[22:40:21] <Drake> REPORTED
[22:40:25] <NaturallyOccurringChoja> PROBATED
[22:40:30] <Drake> ORGASM
[22:40:32] <NaturallyOccurringChoja> FUCK YEAH

[22:28:39] <Edible> Mafia would be a much easier game if we were playing "spot the asshole"

MewMewHeart

  • Hermit Mode on!
  • Just chilling like a hermit.
Trudged my way into Act 4 things are getting interesting for me I did the majority of side quests, and now trying to train my units. The story just keeps making me do theories though...
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BT

  • I never talk to you
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  • People say that I should
Well fuck, am I the only one who didn't realize you can drink from the springs multiple times? I have wasted a lot of stat ups I think, and this game makes backtracking waaay to tedious for me to want to go back for them. So learn from my mistake if you didn't already know this, keep drinking from springs until the game explicitly tells you they've run dry.
This is always a thing I debate about in games, whether it's good to be old-school and not explain some of the game features, or be straightforward and hand-hold-y about everything. Like, for example, a lot of players won't even notice the memory prisms in their playthroughs which is downright dumb on the part of the game devs.

Suwako Moriya

  • Hey you with the pretty face
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  • Welcome to the human race!
Wow. In a long line of really irritating enemy attacks and abilities. Upheaval may very well be the most annoying one.
The only thing this dimension does well is show its ass. We might as well applaud it! - Albert Burneko

Well, this game happened.

MewMewHeart

  • Hermit Mode on!
  • Just chilling like a hermit.
I'm kinda annoyed with the witches teleporting like they're slender man... behind my low res people.

Spoiler:
Any ideas on what you did about the map with the Necrodragon summoner on Celica's route on Act 4?
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commandercool

  • alter cool
I'm kinda annoyed with the witches teleporting like they're slender man... behind my low res people.

Spoiler:
Any ideas on what you did about the map with the Necrodragon summoner on Celica's route on Act 4?

Spoiler:
Use Leon to snipe the snipers, then just slog your way up the front steps. Use Expel to keep the dragons at a minimum, but they're slow enough that they shouldn't really be able to one-shot anyone as long as you keep your HP up. Don't rush and pick off enemies as the opportunity presents itself.

Basically, same as almost every single map in the game. Slow grindy slog where you use a sniper to pick things apart and slowly press forward. Getting so fucking tired of every map being that...
I made a PADHerder. It's probably out of date though.

MewMewHeart

  • Hermit Mode on!
  • Just chilling like a hermit.
Spoiler:
Use Leon to snipe the snipers, then just slog your way up the front steps. Use Expel to keep the dragons at a minimum, but they're slow enough that they shouldn't really be able to one-shot anyone as long as you keep your HP up. Don't rush and pick off enemies as the opportunity presents itself.

Basically, same as almost every single map in the game. Slow grindy slog where you use a sniper to pick things apart and slowly press forward. Getting so fucking tired of every map being that...
Spoiler:
I figured it was something more simpler than what I was gonna do...
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commandercool

  • alter cool
Alright, I've gotten to the point where
Spoiler:
Warp+Double Lion+Rescue slingshot
pretty much nukes any troublesome enemy from space with no risk to me, so that's gooood in a game that's already very easy... At least it basically ignores the whole "swamp you in a million summoned trash enemies" thing that virtually every map employs.
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commandercool

  • alter cool
I keep grinding away at it a little every day, but I'm finding myself completely un-compelled to finish this game at this point. I'm on the third (or fourth? I forget) floor of Duma Tower, and it's just so grindy and repetitive that I can't bring myself to just sit down and dedicate a more than half an hour or so at a time to it. I really like parts of Echoes, but the further I get into it the more I'm convinced it's a pretty awful game. Which is frustrating because the good parts are really good, it's just that the level design is abysmal. Maybe I'm just at a rough patch and there's more very good stuff left to see, I'm sure I'll find out before too long, but I almost feel like this game doesn't want me to play it. 
I made a PADHerder. It's probably out of date though.

Hello Purvis

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  • Hello Jerry
That's probably the most fair assessment of Echoes. The grinding can be a hella pain, and the path asymmetries really give some people a better deal than others. For me, money woes were a problem too.

Also, and most importantly, I have beated the game. and
Spoiler:
Holy shit, Jesse actually made Outer Heaven! I thought that was a throwaway joke they put in because he needed something to say!

Also, holy shit Witch Rinea is nightmare fuel jesus fucking shit.

BT

  • I never talk to you
  • *
  • People say that I should
Spoiler:
Also, holy shit Witch Rinea is nightmare fuel jesus fucking shit.
There's a singular moment that foreshadows this. It was really satisfying to see the scene at the altar going all "knew it!"

Spoiler:
Jedah or Nuibaba talks to Berkut about Duma power and how you halfa sacrifice something precious to get it. Cue Rinea entering stage left.

EDIT: Found the scene (act 3 spoilers)

Hello Purvis

  • *
  • Hello Jerry
Oh yeah, saw it coming and all. Just the result is goddamn horrifying.

EDITO: So. Thoughts on which characters were great, and which were wastes of time? Also what'd yalls do with your villagers? Because I sure classed mine wrong and made 'em work.

Faye => Mage
Kliff => Mercenary
Tobin =>Archer
Gray => Cavalier
Atlas => Soldier
« Last Edit: July 03, 2017, 03:49:28 AM by Purji Costavis »

Reddyne

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Oh hey! Still playing through though I'm heading into the home stretch. Definitely frittered a number of hours away on hard mode before realizing I liked being reckless with a side of care more than I did careful with a side of REKT.

RE: Money - Yeah the game definitely does not want you to storm through with maxed out weapons for half your team. Silver mark hunting requires substantial grinding on reinforcements. Gold mark grinding is pretty much non-existent so far as I know. Getting 3 exotic spices helped a ton, but it's not enough. And if you want to evolve some of your weapons? Forget it. Still glad I picked up a rapier, zweihander, and killer bow, though.

All of Alm's villagers I made into the predictable classes. Grey = merc, Tobes = bowes, Faye = cleric, and Kliff = mage. I can see why for all of them, really. Atlas I also made a merc and NO RAGRETS I think his strength is some beastly number because of his growths. The dread fighter line has some ridiculous base stats, plus the resistance boostS. They all compensated for Atlas's (and Grey's) topsided growths and the results were great. I stuck Atlas with a silver sword and sweet Christmas he hits hard.

As for characters good/bad, uhmm
Good: All of the villagers had utility even in the event their stats don't turn out spectacular. Mathilda, Forsyth, Clair, and Delthea were standouts from Alm's side. Est, Sonya, Jesse, and
Spoiler:
brother Conrad
were particularly strong on Celica's.
Bad: Lukas, Clive, Python, Kamui, Nomah, and on a real bad day Palla simply took up space and little else.

TA-DAAAAAAA! 61 blood donations and counting! 
Best Mile: 5:30
Best 5k: 18:07
Best Marathon: 3:23:16

Hello Purvis

  • *
  • Hello Jerry
I got a lot of good use out of Python. His stats don't amaze, but a good bow turns him into a monster. Kamui worked out really well for me, too.

Glad to hear Sonya works out, I got Deen and no regrets.

Mathilda has been an MVP. As have Forsythe, or should I say Baron von Forsythe.  Valbar held out for a real long time for me, but by lategame his star fades.

Tatiana is mandatory.

Working the postgame now, and it threatens to be real, even on normal.

MewMewHeart

  • Hermit Mode on!
  • Just chilling like a hermit.
Just got back into the swing of things to finish Chapter 4 holy hell... grinding on Alm's route became a breeze thanks to Fear Mountain's Living Cave section although holy hell I've had some close calls and a few Mila turnwheels encounters with the enemies. Thankfully I only have Delthea, Alm, Clive, Matilda, and Python to get to their class change levels and then I'll be able to take on
Spoiler:
Nuibaba.
Oh right then I need to find some place to train Celica's crew at to take on the necrodragon cantor fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck my liiiiiiiiiiife!!!!!!!!!  :matsuriscowl:
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commandercool

  • alter cool
I had a long drive today, would have been the perfect time to get back into the game. I brought my 3DS, turned it on at one point, but I just couldn't get back into it. Maybe I'll try again tomorrow I guess. I do feel like I need to power through and finish it.
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The Greatest Dog

  • Grazing at Mach 10
  • 90 Frames per Second GO!
Speaking of powering through and finishing things. Not that this is the place to talk about Conquest, but I finally opened up my save file that was on chapter 23. Grinded through that, and 24, but man fuck the Lunge chains in Chapter 25. :[

commandercool

  • alter cool
Chapter 25 is a very strong contender for hardest thing that's ever been in a Fire Emblem game. I literally had nightmares about it during my lunatic run.

There's a small trick I've worked out that does help a lot with it though, so let me know if you get stuck and we can see if it helps you too. It's the only reason I didn't abandon the lunatic run, but it does require a particular character to be alive and leveled, so hopefully you got 'em.
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MewMewHeart

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OK Did Nuibaba and Dolth's maps and LOL MVP FOR BOTH MAPS WAS ILLUSIONS no really especially Silque at Nuibaba's place once she learns invoke LOL she ended up summoning Dread Fighters galore and they killed Nuibaba and most of the enemies on the map I laughed so hard, while Dolth Keep I had Genny to summon her illusions as bait for the Necrodragons while everybody was either snipping down the units in the castle while I had Palla, Catria, and
Spoiler:
Ema (DLC character from Cipher Heroes 1)
to mop up some of the remaining dragons due to Falcon Knights. It was a fun way to do the maps, but holy hell Dolth Keep on Celica's side REALLY HAD ME DOING SOME SERIOUS FLAMING HOOP JUMPING. Oh right and make sure you have someone with Physic to keep the illusions healthy while someone else who is a healer to help the spawner keep going I'm right now grinding Celica's side so they can be up to par with Alm's side, Lost Woods is a god send after you get past Dolth Keep. No deaths by the way just close calls on both sides...  :ohdear:
« Last Edit: July 06, 2017, 09:14:36 PM by MewMewHeart »
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Reddyne

  • Give me love and money. I have the rest already.
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  • Love and money coming from you is what I need.
OK Did Nuibaba and Dolth's maps and LOL MVP FOR BOTH MAPS WAS ILLUSIONS no really especially Silque at Nuibaba's place once she learns invoke LOL she ended up summoning Dread Fighters galore and they killed Nuibaba and most of the enemies on the map I laughed so hard, while Dolth Keep I had Genny to summon her illusions as bait for the Necrodragons while everybody was either snipping down the units in the castle while I had Palla, Catria, and
Spoiler:
Ema (DLC character from Cipher Heroes 1)
to mop up some of the remaining dragons due to Falcon Knights. It was a fun way to do the maps, but holy hell Dolth Keep on Celica's side REALLY HAD ME DOING SOME SERIOUS FLAMING HOOP JUMPING. Oh right and make sure you have someone with Physic to keep the illusions healthy while someone else who is a healer to help the spawner keep going I'm right now grinding Celica's side so they can be up to par with Alm's side, Lost Woods is a god send after you get past Dolth Keep. No deaths by the way just close calls on both sides...  :ohdear:
That's basically the go-to strategy. Nuibaba's AI is STOOOPIDly spiteful to any schmendrick you're willing to put in range of her Medusa attack. She'll start the enemy turn first, forego any illusion as a target, and deliberately attack a character so that any of the dread fighters can finish them off. It's best to sit back and spam instead of doing anything productive, fun, clever, etc.

Man I wanna finish the game up but I'm finishing a costume, making another marathon push, and putting in a bit extra at work before I go on vacation. It's endgame plot time and I wanna see what goes down.

TA-DAAAAAAA! 61 blood donations and counting! 
Best Mile: 5:30
Best 5k: 18:07
Best Marathon: 3:23:16

MewMewHeart

  • Hermit Mode on!
  • Just chilling like a hermit.
That's basically the go-to strategy. Nuibaba's AI is STOOOPIDly spiteful to any schmendrick you're willing to put in range of her Medusa attack. She'll start the enemy turn first, forego any illusion as a target, and deliberately attack a character so that any of the dread fighters can finish them off. It's best to sit back and spam instead of doing anything productive, fun, clever, etc.

Man I wanna finish the game up but I'm finishing a costume, making another marathon push, and putting in a bit extra at work before I go on vacation. It's endgame plot time and I wanna see what goes down.
From what I've snooped in from some videos minus not spoiling myself it's good in some areas, but bad in some.
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Reddyne

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Quote from: game
Hey I have a great idear lets take all of the annoying gimmicks in the game and stuff them in the last stage
Hey friendo this is a terrible thought and its not a well thought out challenge that tests the player on all the things they've done so far rather its punishing and annoying. Hell I quit Fates at the last single enemy in the game because I had the gall to have the avatar swap classes at the start instead of stick to what the game said I had to do dozens of hours in. Meanwhile I never had any problems with the last stages of Binding Blade, Blazing Sword, Sacred Stones, or Awakening at all.

TA-DAAAAAAA! 61 blood donations and counting! 
Best Mile: 5:30
Best 5k: 18:07
Best Marathon: 3:23:16

Hello Purvis

  • *
  • Hello Jerry
I took especial joy in leaving
Spoiler:
Jedah
alive to watch me slaughter the endboss, and I think that's worth a fair deal in Echoes' favor.

Also: Yep, postgame gets nasty.

Reddyne

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Knowing what to expect upon a reset really helped my odds in dealing with a lot of situations. It helped me neuter that jerk's magic enough to shut him up permanently and weather some of the other spellcasters before their summons got out of hand. Still preferred fighting tough enemies and using what tactics I could muster to prevent getting chopped or burned to bits as opposed to dealing with summons galore, LOL NO DAMAGE because LOL, and earthquake spam. Duma himself was similar to traditional final bosses in the series, which I liked, but he could easily be neutered by illusions. Rip in pieces, Barry and his 21 identical twins.

Overall liked the game a bunch and wouldn't mind similar remakes for other titles in the series. Lots of plus sides despite a lot of standbys missing. I'd still feel better knowing some rough gameplay mechanics and old map designs were tossed out for better things, though.

Ehhh, I'd play postgame but life is busy and I want to move on to other things. Nintendo and IS will keep getting my dosh for similar games in the future though.

TA-DAAAAAAA! 61 blood donations and counting! 
Best Mile: 5:30
Best 5k: 18:07
Best Marathon: 3:23:16

Hello Purvis

  • *
  • Hello Jerry
I think that's a pretty good assessment. Like, Echoes definitely rates below Fates and Awakening, but it's still not too shabby. There are definitely some slow areas that needed to be spiced up, and some poor ideas that should have been ironed out. But I can kinda appreciate them as a throwback? Not that I wouldn't appreciate them being ironed out more, though.

Honestly, I think the thing that irks me the most is the fact there's an entire set of classes locked behind paid DLC? That's just...kinda lousy, you know? It's just a little too close to core content for me, and it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

commandercool

  • alter cool
Fates and Awakening had classes as DLC too but you don't want those. They're deliberately overpowered to the point that they're basically just cheat codes. I don't know if Echoes is similar, but I guess I hope it is, weirdly? Having a balanced, useful class as DLC would definitely be kind of bad.
I made a PADHerder. It's probably out of date though.

I hear SoV's strong point is basically in its story rather than its gameplay. Given that apparently it's the #1 selling 3DS game in the west, that really says a lot.

Reddyne

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Yeah, I thought the characters and stories were a bit stronger here than they were in Fates. Fates got way too anime for its own good at times. SoV has a lot of aspects that became the tried-and-true components of the series. Having a basic tale of the hero(es) story worked regardless of how cliched it can be because it was put together well. I liked having Alm's knight/cavalier-focused team square up against the Rigelian Empire while Celica's caster/merc/peg knight-focused team fought the Duma Faithful, all while sharing the same story until the two branching paths joined at the end.

No time portal easy bake baby ovens, no OTP fights, no grinding forever through endless loops of classes for skills, no person petting simulators, no heavy weeb ninja-are-better-than-knights nonsense. Nope. You get two main characters that form two parties and go up against two evils in an intertwined plot. Now go kill a mad god and go to bed.

TA-DAAAAAAA! 61 blood donations and counting! 
Best Mile: 5:30
Best 5k: 18:07
Best Marathon: 3:23:16

MewMewHeart

  • Hermit Mode on!
  • Just chilling like a hermit.
The ending of Chapter 4 on Alm's side made me almost cry like literally I was going "OH SHIT OH SHIT I FEEL LIKE JERK!!!" after the huge reveal and partway into Chapter 5 I literally almost got pissed...
Spoiler:
Can we all agree that Berkut's new is BerCUC or BerKUNT because of the shit he pulled ya know THAT PART!?!  And his fight along with witch Rinea ooooh god the stunt she pulled Entraped Alm which in turn BerCUC and the witches wombo combo'd him first time I fought them, second time I used illusions to bait Rinea while I snuck Alm close to BerCUC and bitch slapped him while everyone else took the trash out and healed when needed.
Overall Imma explore the dungeon a little more before fighting the final boss.
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MewMewHeart

  • Hermit Mode on!
  • Just chilling like a hermit.
Apologies for doubling posting, but I've beaten the game today the story was over the top awesome, although I hated the later stages of maps using unnecessary gimmicks like some that almost made me pull my hair out. The final map was so tense music and all to the point I HAD TO ALMOST CRY AND SCREAM AT ALL OF THE GIMMICKS that was being thrown at me while almost losing Alm to a wombo KEYWORD almost if he hadn't dodged a medusa thrown at him.
Spoiler:
Has anyone noticed what Hestia said when you fight her about Sonya something tells me that Marla and Hestia are the sisters that Sonya mentions when you recruit her and talk to her... also Sonya's ending made me sad.
I am, well was doing post game, but had to shut off the game after a silly death... you guys weren't kidding when you said post game was brutal like hell I'm playing normal and still getting my ass kicked.  :ohdear:
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