This is a good game, but it also has one of the worst main character of any RPGs I’ve ever played! He has constant mood swings, he constantly changes his mind for stupid, childish reasons, he talks about having to “process” things, which I’ve never heard any man ever say, he has to be constantly reassured by his companions, because he has no conviction to speak of, he keeps repeating that he wants things to go back to the way they were, again like a child. If I had to identify a problem with this game, the MC would definitely be it!
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Yes! I hate when my commoner lord has second thoughts about killing people and overthrowing government! They (red army) are clearly bad and should die!!
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… Care to elaborate or are we just gonna let this casual sexist remark pass?
also no, not being Ephraim doesn’t make a protagonist bad it makes them better. What you are describing is Ephraim, a boring and unappealing protagonist who is not seen as having any flaws by the story itself.
Storch is not Marth, he is not Ephraim, and he’s not even Ike.
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Oh no! The protagonist of a game has… second thoughts about leaving everything he knows to kill people and engage in political affairs? what a travesty!
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I think we can compare him to Ike. The only real difference between Storch and Ike is their upbringings that makes Ike more used to death and leadership (even if it’s little experience and the beggining), as he is a merc, while Storch is a farmer and clearly not used to this things. Probably the best main character we have had in the official games no cap.
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I feel like the comparison is very surface level. They’re of the ‘‘common man’’ not being of noble birth who slowly rises in social standing through their connections and achievements in battle. Storch’s development is much different I feel, his characterization is much more focused on nostalgia and longing for the past. Especially in part one where one of the gaidens is literally a recollection of the past through a dream.
Although I can very much see the comparison even if I disagree with it.
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I just played through Vision Quest.
This is the first Fire Emblem Romhack I played, thus making it the best Fire Emblem Romhack I ever played by default.
But still, this game has been a really good time.
It really feels official in many ways, If someone told me this game was official, I would believe them. (Other than the Music being from many different games, but I don’t mind it at all. As the music has been very good as a result.)
While at first I was dissapointed by the story after starting out with a group of thieves going into more “normal fire emblem” territory I still was very happy with it. Although it is a shame that due to this game not getting a sequel, part of the game won’t be resolved. But still, the story is nice and works on it’s own.
The Maps are the core of the game and I have to say. They are pretty good, although they are very similar. I especially love the item economy, how you get good resources early. You actually made me use some items I else would never use. I usually never use rescue, but in this my rescue broke! I guess part of it is because so far I didn’t play the harder games of the series. But still, many games should take this “Give resources early, allow for them to be used through the game.”
So… I want to give some criticism too. Although I think for what it is: A game for those who want constant peak Fire Emblem it is pretty good. The only thing I really think is missing is the split promotion system, which gave the player more choice with the units. It’s a system that is limiting enough that units remain themselves but it would also be something where the player can adjust to their needs better, something that may happen in an ironman run.
But still, the game is great.
You made something great. You can be proud of yourself.
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What does a it mean for a weapon to be Prf? I’m assuming that means preferred right? Does it give bonuses if used by the preferred user?
Also I got to chapter 4 and I think I realized there isn’t a way to repair weapons. I used up alot of some characters prf weapons to almost the point of depletion. Should I bother restarting? I assumed I could repair and just used them willy nilly
It means only the units specified can use it. Like Lyn with her mani katti or Marth with his rapier
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As Ghost said. And don’t bother restarting, resources exist to be used.
Oh yeah.
There is one small nitpick I had.
In many maps the reinforcements would be of another weakness than what is shown.
You cannot see that you need to bring a Horseslayer if the Horse units are reinforcements.
I think it would be better to represent all types of units in the starting layout so the player can see what effective weapons to bring.
But that is a pretty minor thing all things considered. But it would help blind playthroughs and make reinforcements more fair. (Although they are already very fair.)
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Having second thoughts is not the problem per se, it’s how he does it.
First of all, he should have never gone down that road to begin with. I’ve read somewhere on this thread that this MC seems (in their mind) similar to Ike, which couldn’t be farther from the truth. Ike would have never become a bandit. It’s actually hilarious that the correct answer is discovered by chance basically. In a land already full of bandits, they should have immediately chosen to become sellswords to protect those who could pay for protection, obviously!
Regarding his doubts though, these are supposed to be farmers in a medieval-like setting, which means they’re supposed to be tough people. They can (and should) have a moral compass and thus potentially have doubts, if justified, but they’re supposed to keep that to themselves or discuss them with a certain level of detachment and maturity. Basically, he’s supposed to be more stoic and mature and not act like a spoiled brat who has to be constantly reassured by his companions. It makes me laugh that at some point they say that he has charisma. This guy is completely devoid of charisma and anything else that could justify the position he’s been given, other than fighting prowess.
What’s sexist about that? If I say that men piss standing, is that sexist now, because it’s different from what women do? That way of speaking is simply not believable when put in the mouth of a man and it wouldn’t be good even if said by a woman in this setting actually, because it’s a modern expression. It’s as if they put an “Ok” in the dialogues.
Regarding Storch not being like any of the good FE protagonists, yeah, he’s certainly not like them. The problem is not that Storch has flaws, but it’s what flaws he has. He’s simply not MC material.
I could dignify this or I could just say your original sentiment is misplaced and then point out that “OK” was used 18 times in FE7 1 time [2 if you cont “Okay”] in FE8 1 time in FE9 and 16 times in FE10 in the main story alone, let alone the supports, and i also distinctly remember the phase spoken in FE 15 so uh… why did I do this…?
But seriously I feel you just like to have big strong men as protagonist which is fine but to call it bad writing when you don’t get that is ironically very childish, Also on the sexism, you clearly display some sentiments.
This… interesting… sentence clearly implies that this sentiment if put in a story set in modern times would still be bad writing if it is from a man but good writing if from a woman, which is just wow.
Your reaction here clearly displays you see being openly emotional as a “woman thing” that men don’t do using the example of men standing up to urinate, which while weird on it’s own also… uh doesn’t work because men can sit to pee too, y’know. [Also there are ways women can pee standing up.]
While I can’t say, definitively, that you are sexist, I do not know you personally, I do see some underling beliefs that you may want to reexamine.
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prob will regret engaging with this, but my coffee is brewing, I have a few minutes, and I dislike some of these comments.
I can buy that the expression is probably too modern (admittedly the earlier parts of the script had more modern-isms I scrubbed out, namely modern swears and other phrases), I don’t buy that this is something “only women say”.
I am a man and I’ve said this. I’ve heard other men say it, too. I don’t think it is off and I dislike the idea that the phrase “isn’t something a man would say”. It’s a bad way to frame things as things only people of X gender say. It’s not based in reality.
I don’t think it is out of place for Storch as a character given his misgivings about doing what he is doing, but again, I can take the critique that it is probably too modern of a phrase to fit with everything else.
Would this still be an issue if he said “I need time to evaluate if this is the right thing to do?” – (that’s basically what he means there) – I don’t think it is off for a man to say that.
Belaro is a pretty rural and poor place and the starting cast are all village regulars. They wouldn’t have the know-how or connections to become mercenaries, plus I’d argue there are few folks nearby who could even afford mercs, and if they could, they’d probably take their chances on more tenured fighters than Storch and the gang.
I’d challenge this – not because I think Storch is the most epic character ever (I grew weary of writing him by the end), but because main protagonists don’t need to fit a particular mold to work narratively.
The narrative of VQ would be weaker if Storch was a “big strong man” as FuriousHaunter put it. Storch was always intended to be moodier, relentlessly clinging to whatever sense of stability he can find – change and circumstance thrust him into doing things he is uncomfortable with, which is why he can be apprehensive and need frequent assurances, especially early on.
When he starts working for Titus in part 2 because the pay is good, he does it because he knows the money will help his family, even if he is increasingly skeptical of Titus’ aims.
If Storch was a “big strong man”, he probably would’ve challenged Titus much earlier and it would become a different story IMO, more like what Titus fears in his head for the back half of the game.
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Regarding the first part, I think that the phrasing “I need time to evaluate if this is the right thing to do” would be slightly better, because it’s certainly more in line with the period, so that would be solved, but I would still dislike this kind of indecisiveness from an MC who’s supposed to be a leader. This is just a small part of the level of destructive indecisiveness that this character brings into his handling of the group. There are several times where he actually expresses his desire to leave everything and go back to his home. Sometimes this happens just minutes after he had agreed to take action (what in particular depends on the context, but it happens more than once, if I remember correctly). This makes him look not only indecisive, but almost psychopathic.
I understand the desire to create a character that is flawed, but, like I said in a previous post, it all depends on the flaws and how they’re presented. A good example of an extremely flawed Lord, that is still able to be believable as a good leader (at the end of his arc, obviously) and a character well done is Dimitri. Obviously Dimitri’s lows are even lower than Storch’s, but the difference is that his arc is actually an arc and his highs are much higher. The dialogue makes you understand Dimitri’s perspective. Even though he too is immature, it’s for different, more altruistic reasons. On the other hand, Storch mostly comes off as a whiny brat in comparison.
Regarding them not being able to … what exactly, imagine that there’s a need for protection work or maybe find those who can pay for it? Except that it’s made apparent in what, the second mission if I remember correctly, that it’s not really that hard, because the same people they wanted to rob are those who could pay for protection. That could be said of everybody else that they ever targeted for their banditry.
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Regarding the first point, it’s mostly a translation problem and yes, it’s still bad writing. Guess what, even the original games can be badly written, just look at Engage!
Regarding the “strong men” argument, like I said in a previous post, it’s not a problem of expressing doubts per se, but it depends on the context and how they do it. Certainly a certain level of toughness and stoicism is expected from someone who’s supposed to be the leader of a group of “fighters” (for lack of a better word). In another post I explained how Dimitri is a similar example of someone who’s not emotionally strong enough to be a good leader, but the difference is that Dimitri has actually an arc with highs and lows and, in the end, those problems are resolved.
Regarding the idea that I would accept that phrasing in a woman in a modern context, actually no, I would still dislike it. It wouldn’t seem unbelievable, but it would still display a level of indecisiveness that I don’t consider appropriate for a leader. If he/she has that kind of doubts, he/she better keep them to himself/herself.
Regarding the pee thing, your argument is actually pointless. Yeah, both can do it differently, but that wasn’t the point. The point is that they usually do it the way I described and pointing out that there are, statistically speaking, differences in behavior is not sexist, in particular not when it’s the truth.
It’s a fantasy world. Just assume that language evolved differently and what looks anachronistic to us is just normal to them. “Processing things” doesn’t seem like a hill worth dying over, I’d rather do it on the “story eventing and presentation is too simple and basic” hill.
But it’s not the truth.
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Anyone have a save state/file from MGBA after 1-3? No matter what I do I can’t get the emulator to go past this. Seems like a common issue. Tried loading the game in Retroarch but it won’t find the saves/states. Playing from my Vita. Thanks,
UPDATE: I repatched, reset, and after a few attempts and different button sequences I got it to push through. Phew!