So, today I was playing the final map of of embers intwined.
It was really rough for me, many units died, and in the end I just watched zappy’s playthrough,
And it made me think.
The vanilla fire emblem games usually have easy final bosses, and sometimes easy final maps, too.
In hacks, though, it’s the opposite
Justice and pride, as an example, I gave up on the final chapter. That was years back, but I still remember it.
Am I just a really bad player? And why do I struggle in the final maps specifically?
I told my partner, and they said a final map/boss is supposed to be the hardest thing in the game
I get that, but it just kinda… Sucks for me.
This post doesn’t really have a point, but if anyone have something to say, I would love to hear.
Also, maybe tips? I bring all my best stuff to the final chapter, and I still just fumble and most of my team dies.
Actually, now that I think of it, I play very aggressively in the lategame, is that the problem?
Sorry to bother, if I did
This is a great game design question! I think both sides, “easy finale” and “hard finale” have their merits.
Let’s start with the easy finale, and think about why mainline FE games usually have an easy final map and final boss. Intelligent Systems isn’t stupid - they didn’t make the finale easy by accident. They typically choose to make the finale easy to give all players, regardless of player skill level, a good ‘final feeling’ about the game. All the player’s party members are super strong, they have the best weapons, and now they handily defeat the big bad guy. Hurray! Makes the player feel like a badass, and they tell their friends they should play Fire Emblem too. It’s cathartic, it’s positive, it’s accessible… it’s a good business decision to have an easy finale.
But hack makers are not interested in mass appeal or good business decisions. And hack players are usually up for more of a challenge. The big bad guy’s final showdown should feel EPIC, and defeating him or her should demand you throwing out every trick, every plan, every ploy you have on hand. And even then, some party members might die. The finale should, in the eyes of hack makers, like the one’s you referenced, be hard to beat. Making it easy sullies the victory and breaks the gameplay / narrative integration.
I don’t really know where I sit on this spectrum. I get the argument from both sides. Maybe “middling difficulty” is best?
I also recognize how hard the finale is to balance for. Did the player get and use all their stat boosters? did they get good level ups? Did they miss that secret super powerful weapon? Lots of variables in terms of party strength going into the final chapter… so it could be easy for some, hard for others.
I wouldn’t say aggressive play in the lategame is a problem. In my eyes, games/romhacks should have a final challenge that’s hard right before a “victory lap” to make the player feel good. As an example for what I mean, the final boss in Pokémon Scarlet/Violet, where the final challenge is the AI professor, but there’s a victory lap segment with your bike lizard which is impossible to lose iirc. It’s the best blend of challenge and fun in my eyes.