The artstyle and production values, and there will always be a couple of characters fans will like. Plus some leniency with the turnwheel mechanics. It might mess with expectations, but when somebody doesn't know how the series usually plays, seems like it's fine to enjoy separate from the rest.I genuinely don't understand what people see in Echoes except for a position to take in opposition to Fates.
It's brill though, and it's really exciting that the upcoming Switch game, Three Houses, is being based on FE: Gaiden/Echoes' gameplay! Definitely try it after you get acustomed to the other entries in the series.
Nowhere but a number of elements in combat and just the open world exploration point towards a lot of cues coming from Echoes.What? Three houses is based on echoes gameplay? This is new to me - when did they say this?
Shadows of Valentia is in no way a black sheep. I'd say it's even inaccurate to label Gaiden a black sheep. Yes, it's mechanically odd compared to other games, but a lot of its mechanics did end up getting adopted or revisted in one way or another.People can hate Fates all they want, but saying Echoes is a good entry point into Fire Emblem is like saying Simon's Quest is a good entry into Castlevania. They're the black sheep in their respective series and I can't in good conscience recommend them in context of the OP. Echoes is fine to try if you've played 2 or 3 other games in the series but playing it as an entry into the series is a surefire way to mess your expectations and learning patterns up. There's no other Fire Emblem game that follows a similar design pattern, except maybe Fire Emblem Shadow Dragon in some regards, but you won't find the (tedious) dungeon crawling anywhere else, the art style or voice acting. I genuinely don't understand what people see in Echoes except for a position to take in opposition to Fates.
Echoes may not be that representative of the series as a whole and I would agree there are better first entries like Awakening, but I do think it probably is the best indication of where the series is heading and what Three Houses will be like.
I genuinely don't understand what people see in Echoes except for a position to take in opposition to Fates.
People can hate Fates all they want, but saying Echoes is a good entry point into Fire Emblem is like saying Simon's Quest is a good entry into Castlevania. They're the black sheep in their respective series and I can't in good conscience recommend them in context of the OP. Echoes is fine to try if you've played 2 or 3 other games in the series but playing it as an entry into the series is a surefire way to mess your expectations and learning patterns up. There's no other Fire Emblem game that follows a similar design pattern, except maybe Fire Emblem Shadow Dragon in some regards, but you won't find the (tedious) dungeon crawling anywhere else, the art style or voice acting. I genuinely don't understand what people see in Echoes except for a position to take in opposition to Fates.
What? Three houses is based on echoes gameplay? This is new to me - when did they say this?
Oh I forgot about the turnwheel, I didn't use it much personally but I rather like this solution and could see something similar used in future entries (instead of Phoenix Mode).The artstyle and production values, and there will always be a couple of characters fans will like. Plus some leniency with the turnwheel mechanics. It might mess with expectations, but when somebody doesn't know how the series usually plays, seems like it's fine to enjoy separate from the rest.
I didn't play FE3, FE4 and FE5 so I don't know how the series evolved after FE2 until FE6, but at least I've read that fatigue returns in Tracia 776. However I don't know if dungeons, archers being able to shoot enemies on adjacent tiles and enemies far away, and HP penalties for casting magic returned. To me FE6 has much more in common with FE1 than FE2 at least.Shadows of Valentia is in no way a black sheep. I'd say it's even inaccurate to label Gaiden a black sheep. Yes, it's mechanically odd compared to other games, but a lot of its mechanics did end up getting adopted or revisted in one way or another.
I think I liked the archer class best in Echoes, because as you say it afforded tactical options, however most of the other classes seemed interchangeable to me, the stats mattered most.For me it's the production values and gameplay changes. Archers having more than 2 range was nice as was the actively choosing skills mechanic. Led to some creative options.
Don't get me wrong, the map design is horrendous and they made some unfortunate choices with Celica. But it's a weird game that really clicked for me.
That fact is potentially troubling, but everything else about the game so far feels like it's going in the opposite direction thankfully. The character designs so far have all been very practical and not fan service-y, the story and setting seem much more serious and well developed. We have actual location names, a deciferable world map and solid details about the setting. And overall it seems to be taking more design cues from Echoes than anything else.
But yeah there is always the possibility of some high school themed pandering and fan service. Hopefully we'll see more very soon and get a better idea at the direction this are going.
The series underwent a lot of evolution and experimentation between FE1 and FE6. Far more so than you apparently realize.I didn't play FE3, FE4 and FE5 so I don't know how the series evolved after FE2 until FE6, but at least I've read that fatigue returns in Tracia 776. However I don't know if dungeons, archers being able to shoot enemies on adjacent tiles and enemies far away, and HP penalties for casting magic returned. To me FE6 has much more in common with FE1 than FE2 at least.
This is probably the worst place to ask since any topic about the 3DS games is going to be flooded by old school FE fans who make it sound like Awakening and Fates murdered their dog.
Personally I recommend Awakening. It's how I got started and makes for a good introduction. If you want something to continue on that beginner friendly level then go to Birthright. If you want more challenge go to Conquest.
And ignore anything before that because it'll just make the fanboys saltier./s
Now that you mention it; the writing/translation between US and EU versions is different.Awakening first, then Fates if you enjoyed that
Birthright is also pretty beginner friendly though, its just the writing in Awakening is better
Probably reacted to rashly but there are absolutely people making Fates sound like fucking Big RigsYou're the only person bringing that toxic attitude into this thread. No one's been vitriolic toward Awakening in here — only one person expressed so much as dislike for it, from a quick skim.
For being being the "worst place to ask," people sure have been even-handed and helpful. Even most "old school fans" in here have been saying that Awakening is a good starting point.
We've only seen the three main lord's full artwork and then a number of other character's cutscene/in-game models, but yeah they've all been good and non-fanservicey so far. I'm sure there will be a few in there by the end, but as long as there's no 1000 year old dragons or giant boob monsters in lingerie armor I'll be happy.That's actually really good news to me, because as awful as the writing in Fates was, if the designs hadn't also had so many awful fan service-y offenders I probably wouldn't have minded nearly as much since the gameplay, (in Conquest at least), was so fantastic. Should definitely look into more, thanks for the info.