[FE8] [COMPLETE] - Fire Emblem: Orson's Tale

[Dark]

— Fire Emblem Orson’s Tale tells the forgotten story of our beloved knight, Sir Orson. We all know how he betrayed Renais because of his unfortunate loss, his wife’s death, and the promise of her revival by the Demon King.

— But what about the path that led him to this destiny? What made him choose the lies of a dead god instead of the truth right beneath his nose? Why did he cling to the past by reviving his wife, rather than fighting for a better tomorrow? In this game, you will face all of Orson’s trials and discover what truly led him to change his path.

— This project was originally conceived as a dream, yes, an actual dream. One night, I dreamed of Orson fighting his way through the ruins of the first chapter (the original map, not the ruined Renais version). The map in the game is about 90% faithful to that dream. The only major difference is the Forest of Whispers, a gameplay element added to enhance immersion, challenge, and add a little extra spice.

— During early development, I shared this dream with my psychologist, who offered several ideas. Before long, we began collaborating on the project, bringing a new level of quality, depth, and narrative focus to the game. Without my psychologist, this project would never have become what it is today, and I have immense appreciation for our shared work.

— As a final note, this game is unlike anything you may have seen in the Fire Emblem community. Instead of a traditional RPG-style FE adventure, it delivers a deep, solitary, and atmospheric experience, using the game’s mechanics to create replayability and a fresh identity compared to classic fan games. So far, there has only been one other game, made long ago, that gave me a similar feeling. But enough talk. To our adventure, let’s see what Orson brings to the table.

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This game contains 3 chapters, 1 alternative chapter and 1 extra chapter.

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📜 Chapters 📜

Chapter I: Ego (+ 1 Alternative RNG Based Chapter)
Chapter II: Super Ego
Chapter III: Id
Final Chapter: Deus Ex Mens

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📷 Screenshots 📷

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📥 Download 📥

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FE8 - Orson’s Tale

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📚 Credits 📚

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[Hatsuru]

So uh, I tried playing this on hard, then normal.

Was this playtested for easy?

Spoilers

Normal and Hard modes respectively. Normal mode is doable, however the end boss was unkillable unless you had perfect rng/hit chances. The moving shaman in the central area was able to one shot Orson.

Orson was unable to damage the puppeteer and Eira was only able to do that ^. The boss was able to more or less recover all HP before I was able to damage it more.

The game was pretty interesting dealing with grief and guilt. The jumpscare at the beginning scared me more because it was incredibly loud. The 2nd scream near the puppeteer’s door got me as well.

[Dark]

I playtested it only on Normal mode. However, I must have increased the Hard Mode enemy stats at some point in 2024 and ended up forgetting about it. I’ll quickly take a look into that.

[Dark]

Small fix update!

• Orson & Eira received slight status improvements
• Boss Chapter I – Ego was slightly nerfed
• Hard Mode has been made a bit easier (completion still uncertain)
• Fixed the portrait display when dying

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Donwload

UPS File: [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gq3sQ0m4rt1PCpF1kOeX-QdrXBOPfTTV/view?usp=sharing]

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Discord
Game Server: [FE8-HACK] - Orson's Tale
General Games Server: Neith Studios' Games

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[ShirleyVaga]

i finished but only got the bad ending
what do i need to get the good one

[Marik]

I really like this concept, I’m reading Jung’s “Man and his symbols” to understand my dreams better. I’ve been writing my comments down as I play, will share once I complete all modes/chapters. I played through easy and got the bad ending so far. Playing through normal right now. I got to chapter Super Ego and after opening cutscene, after any action I take, I get a game over. I can share save file it this makes things easier.

Re bad ending

I found the shield in the broken house in C1 so maybe I’m on track to a not bad ending?

[Dark]

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Spoilers - How to get the Good Ending

Chapter I – Ego: You must take Orson’s Shield from the broken house inside the Forest of Whispers.
Chapter II – Super Ego: You must get Monika’s Pendant just to the left of the church.
Chapter III – Id: If you have acquired Orson’s Shield and Monika’s Pendant, you can obtain Orson’s Blade just to the right of the forest. This can only be achieved if you managed to get the previous items; otherwise, the path to the right will not be open.
Final Chapter: You must beat this chapter before turn 20 or before the four Orbs of Emotion are destroyed.

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Enjoy!

[Dark]

Please provide me with a save file. If you also have a video, that would be great.

I double-checked all the events in the chapters and couldn’t find anything that would cause a Game Over, so I will be waiting for your save file.

I’m really happy that you’re enjoying the game so far, and I would love to read your comments.

Re: Bad Ending

You are right on track! Getting Orson’s Shield is the first step toward the Good Ending!

[dalex]

this looks insane, downloading now

[LittleGreenWizard]

Hello @Dark, congratulations on releasing your hack!
Crazy Backstory on why you were motivated to create it tho. You were right when telling that this will be a unique Fire Emblem experience, this was it for sure. Especially with the Jumpscare in Chapter 1.
The style of the hack was like a standalone game and reminded me back to Horror RPG classics like The Witch’s house, Mad father or Ib.

To the story

The story refreshing from a mature point of view, as most hacks have a more lighter approach to tell stories. It was however a little bit to short, atleast in the cutscenes for my taste. The support convo contributed some great background details towards Orson and his feminine side, but I craved some more.

What disappointed me storywise a little bit was the extra chapter good ending. Not the fight itself but the exchange between Eira and Psyche. I like the insertion of philosopical themes within a story, yet the exposé felt out of place for me as a player. Since I don’t speak latin I fortunately had an AI translator near my device yet it still feels like a break to the immersion of the game. Mainly because there was a lack of build-up in the previous chapters that could display the philosophical exchange better in the final chapter.
This made the exchange felt too much like a philosophical debate on a forum and without translation not really appealing. In the case you want to add a translation, you could use Tequilas Text Engine patch to extend the Convo box by using the command [BoxHeight][0x0003] in Febuilder (atleast that’s how it works in there), which gives you to the opportunity to write three lines of Latin, and then an English translation afterwards.

Gameplay

It was alright, I played on normal and it was nothing out of the ordinary and a little tedious with Orson starting with 4 move in the first chapter.
I however want to give big props for your own tilesets and the Boss animation in the first chapter, that looks sick! The extra sounds were also great for making the gameplay more “eerie”.
Although you wrote the conditions for the good endings, I think it would be great if you add an ingame hint on how to meet the conditons for gaining the extra chapter so that people can get the good ending on their own. Maybe I oversaw some hints during the playthrough but I thought at first it was achieveable by not killing the optional bosses (Which made the playthrogh impossible lol).

To conclude it I would say it was a refreshing short hack that will be remembered by me.

[Dark]

I feel very happy and honored. This project was made with a lot of love, with the goal of bringing something new to the community. Knowing that it is bringing joy and good experiences makes me even happier!

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To the Story

I understand. I have always wanted to expand the story a bit more, but I was afraid of either missing something or adding elements that wouldn’t be canonical to Orson’s narrative. However, reading your comment made me itch to add some of the dialogues I’ve wanted to implement since day one.

The Latin dialogue was something I discussed extensively with my psychologist, she actually said the exact same words you did . Having the psyche speak in Latin was meant to be a small “spice”. That said, I will take a closer look at that. I still have the original text in the game files, so luckily it should just be a matter of updating it.

Gameplay

Yes, the idea was to create a slower experience. During playtesting, I noticed that Orson has a very limited movement range. Compared to Eira, Orson only reaches a similar range when he is at Tier 3 class. I will definitely take another look at this. The experience should remain slow, but reducing unnecessary tedium is essential.

You’re also right about the hints, they are very dry and short. I believe the only hint the player receives during the game is after Chapter II Super Ego, and even then, it only appears if the player has already acquired two relics.

This is a very good critique. I will work on adding a few more dialogues to make players aware that there is more to the chapter, while still preserving the sense of mystery.

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I truly appreciate your feedback and commentary. This made me incredibly happy, more than I can properly express.

I will update the game based on your feedback, it is very solid and helped me realize some things I overlooked while making the game.

[Dark]

Small Fix Update!

• Added hints to help obtain the Good Ending;
• Changed Orson’s movement range from 4 → 5;
• Changed the dialogue between Eira and Psyche from Latin → English;
• Made a small dialogue update for Eira after Psyche’s Latin quote at the beginning of the Good Ending’s final chapter.

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Donwload

UPS File: [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gq3sQ0m4rt1PCpF1kOeX-QdrXBOPfTTV/view?usp=sharing]

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Enjoy, everyone! All links have been updated, so you don’t need to worry about which one you choose.

Thanks for any constructive feedback! I’m currently reviewing the dialogue throughout the chapters so I can improve it in a future update.

[Dark]

Small Fix Update!

• Added +1 Chest Key on Chapter II Super Ego;

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Donwload

UPS File: [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gq3sQ0m4rt1PCpF1kOeX-QdrXBOPfTTV/view?usp=sharing]

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Enjoy, everyone! All links have been updated, so you don’t need to worry about which one you choose.