Best 3DS Fire Emblem Game?

[Sölf]

As an overall game I would probably say Awakening.

Birthright is just a worse Awakening.

Conquest has the best gameplay out of all Fire Emblem games, imo. The main problem is the extremely hight difficulty compared to other games and the story which is one of the worst in the franchise.

Revelation has an even worse story and is a weird mix of Birthright and Conquest. Not as hard as the latter but also not as varied and what should be a "best of two worlds" is imo worse than both other routes.

Echoes has the best presentation out of all games, but the map design is just horrible and later on you get real bullshit. I still haven't beaten it (maybe halfway through chapter 4, nearly done with Celica but only the Witch Tower part on Alm's route is done), which is actually a first before the next game releases. The only other time were I didn't beat a FE in one go was with Shadow Dragon, which had the exact opposite problems of Echoes: Map design was great but the story was so non existant that that was the reason why I stopped playing.

 

[ryushe]

Echoes easily.

It isn't as 'fun' or broken as Awakening, nor does it have the complexity of Fates (well, conquest) but Echoes overall package (story, phenomenal localization, music, etc.) are just top-notch.

Awakening got me into FE, but Echoes made me a fan.

 

[TheWill]

tbh that is bullshit. If this was true, Shadow Dragon would have been a favorite for everybody as the DS was a more popular system then the 3ds.

I think awakening's final produce was rather rough, but I do think it having an excellent japanese and english voice cast, a great modern engine with a clean look that fates and echoes refined were key.

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What? First of all, Shadow Dragon wouldn't have been everyone's favourite since it sold poorly and was rarely a persons introduction to the franchise (DS being more popular is completely irrelevant). Secondly, for a bias to develop, there has to be a positive experience which Shadow Dragon failed to deliver for many people. Finally, the actual game you were looking to compare Awakening with is Blazing Sword, which holds the exact same sentiments of being a fan favourite, which you recognized in a later post as "GBA kiddies". Awakening has bad map design (though probably the best out of the 3DS entries aside from Conquest) with same-turn reinforcements and mind-blowing plot decisions such as retconning every story relevant death through Spotpass DLC and providing players an insulting ending choice that actually doesn't matter.

With that said, it was absolutely wrong of me to suggest 'first game bias' was the solitary reason for the games favouritism, so my apologies to everyone I had upset with that comment as it is wrong. Despite my dislike for archetypal anime caricatures, they actually are popular with other demographics, so Awakening's cast is considered a fan favourite. Similarly, the Future Past plotline is actually extremely interesting and engaging (despite not developing the main villain).

I do absolutely think Awakening's popularity is significantly impacted by it being the game that introduced many to the franchise and that is a fair statement to make, again, in my opinion.

 

[Drax]

What? First of all, Shadow Dragon wouldn't have been everyone's favourite since it sold poorly and was rarely a persons introduction to the franchise (DS being more popular is completely irrelevant). Secondly, for a bias to develop, there has to be a positive experience which Shadow Dragon failed to deliver for many people. Finally, the actual game you were looking to compare Awakening with is Blazing Sword, which holds the exact same sentiments of being a fan favourite, which you recognized in a later post as "GBA kiddies". Awakening has bad map design (though probably the best out of the 3DS entries aside from Conquest) with same-turn reinforcements and mind-blowing plot decisions such as retconning every story relevant death through Spotpass DLC and providing players an insulting ending choice that actually doesn't matter.

With that said, it was absolutely wrong of me to suggest 'first game bias' was the solitary reason for the games favouritism, so my apologies to everyone I had upset with that comment as it is wrong. Despite my dislike for archetypal anime caricatures, they actually are popular with other demographics, so Awakening's cast is considered a fan favourite. Similarly, the Future Past plotline is actually extremely interesting and engaging (despite not developing the main villain).

I do absolutely think Awakening's popularity is significantly impacted by it being the game that introduced many to the franchise and that is a fair statement to make, again, in my opinion.

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Bro, pretty much everybody's favorite emblem is their first one.

Shadow Dragon is the perfect example of a Fire Emblem having to hit a floor of quality to get people to like it which is why I brought it up. PoR sold like shit as well but the title resonated, but it was hampered by being on an unpopular console (where SD doesn't have that excuse). Awakening sure had at least something that resonated with the fanbase.

 

[TheWill]

Bro, pretty much everybody's favorite emblem is their first one.

Click to shrink...

Sadly. Let's hope Three Houses changes this.

 

[QuarkMann]

Wow, so many Fire Emblem threads on this forum at the moment! Who would have imagined this a couple of years ago when the franchise was perceived as niche even among core gamers. I guess Three Houses is off to a great start - I really hope it can fulfill the expectations of old and new fans alike.

But back to topic: I'll go for Echoes as it's story and characters were more grounded like in the older games while the presentation itself set a new standard for the series. The voice acting and especially the music were able to keep my attention high despite the weak map design and redundant battles. And the option to go back in time and reconsider your turns made the game way more beginner friendly while maintaining the actual challenge as it's completely optional. And I'm so glad that the feature will be present in Three Houses as well as I like to play with perma death on and with that option I'm able to reduce the potential frustration to a minimum.

Fates didn't do anything for me though. The story was a mess and felt so rushed. And while other people here praise Conquest's map design and inlying challenge the actually difficulty was a litte bit much for me. Then add all these useless features which came with the castle and you might get an idea why I'm so lukewarm about the second 3DS installment. I hope that Three Houses will give all these additional features which come with the academy an actual purpose otherwise I'll be pretty disappointed. Fingers crossed!

 

[QuarkMann]

Bro, pretty much everybody's favorite emblem is their first one.

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Well, my first FE game was Sacred Stones. While it introduced me to the actual franchise Path of Radiance is still my favorite - by a large margin.

Ike always wins.

 

[TheMoon]

Everyone voting Awakening hasn't played Echoes. Cause it's Echoes.

 

[SuperJohnny]

Awakening.

BR is just ok
CQ's plot is the worst in the series
RV's maps are some of the worst in the sries

Echoes's gameplay is the worst of the 3DS games. Alm's plot is really good but Celica's is stupid.

 

[Normal]

Ayyy. Not surprising that Awakening is in first place, but seeing SoV in second place is great.

 

[NSESN]

How does Revelations even have a vote?