[FE8] Fire Emblem: Ballad of the Bard (19/30 Chapters + 2 Interludes)

[SubwayBossEmmett]

Welcome to Ballad of The Bard!

Download Link

Ballad of the Bard is my love letter to FE6 and Elibe. It is an altered take on the setting and world of FE6. It has the main goal of trying to explore more of Elibe from another perspective and getting more of the world and cast involved.

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Notable features

• Perfect availability Bard and Dancers
• An original story and chapters to play through
• Plans to include and feature the entire original playable FE6 Cast
• Automatic Refreshing of Elffin and Larum by simply waiting next to one another
• Familiar yet new OST using FE6’s instruments
• Increased hit rates
• Interlude conversations
• One fixed difficulty, with a goal to emphasize fairness

Special Thanks

KrashBoomBang for getting me into hacking in the first place

JelliedUnicorns’s giving me a goal of polish to try and reach

Project Ember Team for the creation of public assets

7743 for making this incredible tool, and FEU discord for advice

UltraxBlade for being my frequent go to consultant for FEbuilder Jank

ArcherBias, if it wasn’t for you I would still have just FE6’s OST.

Jumpy23 for going from “heavy feedback” to “Cowriter”

To everyone else’s DMs I blow up with progress

And a deepest, sincerest thanks to everyone who playtested this at any point so far.

Custom Assets

Custom ASM/CHAX:
Scraiza - Wait Refresh, Steal/Drop icons, Crit Formula change and Magic Sword ASM
GigaExcalibur (Dragz) - Physic Range change and Soft Weapon Lock
Bpat - Individual Chapter Exp Modifier
Ditto - Battle BGM Customizer
UltraxBlade - Impassable Green units
snow.chr - “Death Dance”
MournfulRelic - Miracle Charm and Emblem Seal
Contro Versy - Exp by action
Tequila - Growths display

Animations:
Larum Dance - Drawn by Redbean scripted by CedAodh
Elffin Play - Scripting fix by Aarongeddon
Transporter Staff Animations - N426
Axe Cavalier - Primefusion
Colm Assassin Reskin - NamelessX
Matthew Assassin Reskin - Drawn by GreenTea scripted by Pikmin1211
Cecilia Reskin - UltraFenix

Unique OST additions:
ArcherBias

Portraits:
Cygnus, KrashBoomBang, LaurentLacroix, Levin, SSHX and Random Wizard

Repalleting and portait touch ups:
DainnOfGungnir and Zappypants

Backgrounds:
Night Village - DoinThangs

Stat Screen:
Knabepicer

Map Sprites:
Modified King - Knabepicer
Siuloir - Axe Cav - Siuloir
Hood Assassin - Archerbias
Torch - FE7if

Item Icons:
Archerbias, Ereshkigal, KrashBoomBang, Krispylahe, Jubby, and Zane

Tilesets:
Project Ember Team, Hyperspace Gamma and N426

Title Screen Art:
Pixels By Skab

Honorable Mention:
Retina - I removed the save points he helped me edit.
thanks for nothing smh

Patches/ASM used

Patches

• 16 tracks 12 sounds / Source: Agro/Brendor
• 256 Color Title Background / Source: Leonarth
• 48command_hack / Source:Hextator
• 01command_hack / Source:Hextator
• Actions After Support (Contemporary Style) / Source:circleseverywhere
• Actions After Talk (Contemporary Style) / Source:circleseverywhere
• Add Event: Character Retreat / Source:NGMansion
• Add Event: Get Unit Status / Source:7743
• Add Event: Change Edition / Source: 7743
• Add Event Set Unit Status / Source:7743
• Add Event: Set all Unit Status / Source:7743
• Add Event: Condition: Accumulated Gold / Source:7743
• Add Event: Lose Item(Unit) / Source:7743
• Add Event: Lose Item(All) / Source:7743
• Add Event: Get SupportLevel / Source:7743
• Add Event: Force rescue to event / Source:circleseverywhere
• Add Event: Send unit’s all items to transporter / Source:7743
• Add Event: SilentGiveItem / Source:7743
• Add Event: Simple Escape event / Source:7743 and Aera
• Add Event: Simple Escape event that can be easily created / Source:7743 and NGMansion
• Add Event: Set Unit State Conditions / Source:7743
• Added game option that staff and dances do not display animation / Source:7743
• Allegiance Palette /Source:Vesly
• Allow 254 generic minimugs /Source:Gryz, 7743
• Anti-Huffman / Source:Hextator
• AutoGenLeftOAM /Source:7743
• Autosave Killer /Source:laqieer
• Battle Transforming /Source:Tequila
• Change weapon’s range text /Source: 7743
• Change support conversation to 5 people instead of 5 times(By Aera) / Source:aera
• Change color of save menu for each difficulty /Source: 7743
• Change Battle BGM by chapter /Source: 7743
• Change OP class reel to read in the order of table definition /Source: 7743
• Change to have multiple units that can seize /Source: 7743
• Character Custom Animation by EA ver2 /Source: 7743
• Change image in upper right of the preparations /Source: 7743
• COND check whether all members have withdrawn / Source: 7743
• Covert Titles to Text /Source:circleseverywhere
• COND Check whether all members have withdrawn / Source:NGMansion
• CritCap. / Source: Contro
• Decide Whether to Fill Ai Danger Map /Source: Vesly
• Define Multiple Prohibits the Crit By Item. (Installer) / Source:7743
• Define Multiple dancers(Battle animation effect) Installer / Source:7743
• Deny Deployment from Preparations /Source: Area, 7743
• Display Escape menu / Source:7743
• ExModular Save with Supply 200 / Source: Stan
• Expand the setting of the ring effect used by dancers /Source: 7743
• FE8-Battle Stats with Anims Off / Source:Tequila
• FE8u Class reel alt class name /Source: 7743
• FEditorMagicCSASystem /Source: Hextor
• Fix dodge to front glitch /Source: Snakey1
• Guide Event (Shinan)@ EA Patch /Source: Shinan
• HPBars_simple / Source:circleseverywhere, Zane
• Limitless Trading / Source: NGMansions
• Make NPC as the third power /Source: 7743
• Map Danger Zone /Source: circleseverywhere
• Modular Minimug Box (RunaBox LHT) /Source:unuesu
• MultiTileMarker Display multiple exit markers /Source: 7743
• NarrowFont /Source: Scraiza
• Range Display Fix /Source: 7743, Stan
• Remove Easy Mode / Source:Nintenlord
• Remove fog from background of the save menu /Source: pikmin
• Passive Boost Patches (no-stack) /Source: Venno
• Perform special chapter notation /Source: 7743
• Setting sound effect of a many dancer in map battle (Installer) / Source:7743
• Setting sound effect of a many dancer in map battle /Source: 7743
• Setting hide chapter title/Source: 7743
• Set Preparation BGM by chapter /Source: 7743
• Sets flag when enemy escaped, for hook in event. / Source:7743
• Show heal amount /Source: Tequila
• Skip world map fix /Source: Stan
• SOUND_NIMAP2(Native Instrument Map) / Source:Alusq
• Switch the death quote for each unit who is the killer /Source: 7743
• Use background image displayed […] when displaying turn list ending

Link to Google Drive

[KrashBoomBang]

I definitely love this concept of a hack designed around double refreshers. Really grabs your attention and lets you know instantly what the hack is about.

[Areynor]

I may try it

[ArcherBias]

Good hack

[SubwayBossEmmett]

Hey, it’s been a bit huh?

Honestly, if FEU wasn’t upon us, who knows when I would have dropped a tangible update but I can definitively say that this hack is leaps and bounds more polished than it used to be. Though that should be expected when someone goes from knowing a program for “a few months” to “Over two years now.”

Custom Code from Scraiza for quick access bardtraining refreshing really makes things night and day. For quick and easy access and making it really become an effortless tool for the player.

I have chapter 9x technically playable for sure, but I’m not happy enough to release it as it is right now, so the demo unceremoniously ends at chapter 9. Though that is Chapter 1/2/3/4/5/5x/Intermission/7/8/9, so it is more than a fair bit to sink your teeth into.

Also, my scripting/eventing is also only through chapter 7 as of now, I really hope you enjoy what’s there.

But please enjoy!

Once again thanks to everyone who’s taken their time to help playtest this hack before this release and I thank you again for taking a look at this passion project love letter of mine.

uncurrent patch:

Ballad of the Bard FEE3 2022.ups

[Nutterbutter]

Just saw the FEE3 video on this and I just gotta say I love the concept. Balancing something like this must be hard too so its pretty impressive. I’ll try it out sometime!

[SubwayBossEmmett]

FEE3 Time!

2023 was an interesting time for me to say the least. In regards to making bardtrain, I didn’t make much progress forward in the grand schemes but I did go back and redo… a lot and give other things a generalized facelift.

Got a great friend to really help tighten up writing and gave me great ideas where/when to add more into my hack without it feeling bloat-y or the awkward turn 1 talks for a few characters at once.

And my UI isn’t just literally fe8’s + a changed stat screen anymore which is always cool.

Not to mention really planted my heels and figured out how world map events work, and I really do think they add a lot to the entire package even if it isn’t a totally needed element.

Once again massive massive shoutouts to Lowres who approached me to do this FEE3 clear. I probably wasn’t going to have an FEE3 post this year if he didn’t offer.

If you’re somehow reading this without watching his mini LTC first, uh, here’s the link:

FEE3 2023: Fire Emblem: Ballad of the Bard

[Aarongeddon]

This hack is fun to play even if it can be too big brain for me sometimes lmao

I love the effort on trying to make it as close to FE6 visually as possible. I’m sure most people won’t catch every change made to reflect this, but that’s just the beauty of how seamless it is.

[SubwayBossEmmett]

Update Time!

It’s been awhile since FEE3 2023 but We’ve got 19 chapters done all with complete writing (17 gameplay and 2 interludes).

Also features a talk conversation per map between our bard and dancer train!
Usually just for flavor to add onto the world of Elibe.

Some fun screenshots

[Get the patch here!] (Ballad of the Bard Releases - Google Drive)

[Devisian_Nights]

woah is that elffin from fire emblem heroes?!

[SubwayBossEmmett]

Been a LONG 48 hours but got a few minor tweaks, mostly thanks to Alexmanperson noticing enough quick fixable errors that I’d like to throw this into an update already.

Also I’ve realized to finally make the link to the patch a folder in Drive so that every time I update the patch it doesnt set me back down to zero clicks…

[BobbyAsaka]

no way roy is finally in the hack???

[SubwayBossEmmett]

who

[SubwayBossEmmett]

Smaller update this time!

Only 2 new finished chapters, but I realized mid-working on the current patch that I totally botched some reinforcements + including more item drops so decided to ship out what I had.

This patch also has reworked supports to be more passive closer to Hag in White to combine innate supports that grow over specific convos, generally interludes.

…I did sincerely come up with this before I played Hag in White but Hag in White made me double down on the idea.

Download Link

Edit: oh also it was a good excuse to update my credits which were woefully out of date.

[Fringus]

as someone playing this, figure i should drop a bit of kudos to something im really enjoying.
think more people should hop on ballad of the bard, it’s a goodass time so far. it hits some notes of fe6 while still plainly hitting its own stride identity-wise for gameplay. all while keeping very in line with the cast and how they, yknow, would actually act in this sorta alt-scenario for fe6.

every map so far’s had great mileage out of being able to bardtrain anywhere, and it’s always made me weigh splitting the dancers versus keeping them together for massive mobility (with some great moments to bullshit myself out with bardtraining)

will prolly have a more overall review written later when i hit the endpoint, but for now, yeah, it’s just really fun. and it doesn’t seem to be letting up any time soon.

one essential bit of information

its also got wade. what’s not to love?

[Alexmanpersonguy]

As someone who’s played this, more people really should be playing it like Fringu said. There’s just not another hack like it. While several have bard training those generally have it in the game with some clear gameplay evidence that it wasn’t really planned around the feature. Ballad is keenly aware that the premise is incredibly powerful, and makes you use it to it’s full potential or wallow in missing objectives. The cast is focused but not necessarily in a way that feels limiting wrt to replays. Pretty much every unit has something going for them, or something that they bring to the table (okay, maybe not you gonzo). Personally I’m a huge fan of echidna, shin, Noah, and some others who we all know and love.

Story wise, its an alternate telling on the events surrounding fe6 but not in a way that feels inherently fanficcy or a power fantasy esque retelling . I’ll let you play to find out but its a version of the narrative I think hardcore fe6 fans ( such as myself) will get a kick out of. Lastly the dialogue itself is economical, it doesn’t overstay its welcome or insist on itself with flowery language but there’s some meat there. Overall the hack is a good blend of everything that makes a hack tick in my opinion. There’s love and polish put into every aspect and they all come together to make a damn good time. Also, lots of remixes and arrangements by Archerbias are in the rom. If you know who Archer is you know why that’s a huge selling point. Anyway, where’s one tile cost water movement Geese, Emmett. Im waiting.

[MegaCowsamMan]

Played up to chapter 4, and had a pretty good time. Here’s some of my thoughts:

Chapter 1

Forgive me for being a bit blunt, but I was considering dropping the hack because of the first chapter. It’s just two dancers and one hero, who is the only one who can deal any sorta damage against the fighters above.

When making a first glance at the map, it didn’t seem too long or complicated, but slowly having to walk up to every fighter, and cut 'em down got old pretty quickly.

Now, from what I can tell, the design should act as a sorta tutorial for the player to get used to the two dancers and their intertwined mechanic, but still.

Chapter 2

Thankfully, chapter 2 was miles better. Though, it might just be me, but I don’t know how you’re supposed to get the house at the upper-right of the boss. I was halfway there when it was detroyed.

Having Wade and Lot was quite a bit of fun though. I like now you distinguished their stats more then FE6, with Wade being more strength oriented, and Lot being more well-rounded. It plays more into their personalites, and gives them separated use cases, which is always excellent!

Chapter 3

This one is very interesting, with how much units there are to recruit (including Noah, the best cav,) and an endless sea of pirates coming from all angles. The timer boss was also a lot of fun, and since you only get a flier halfway through the map, you really have to book it to save the villages on time, while also trying to recruit Klein as well.

I’ll continue playingt through and giving my thoughts.

[SubwayBossEmmett]

Thanks for playing!

While ch1 is def supposed to be a tutorial / safe spot to learn the gist of bardtraining aka wait/refreshing was it just the number of enemies that seemed like a drag? Was it the green units showing up not on turn 1 that made it seem more boring at a first glance?

I very much appreciate that you powered through past ch1, and glad you seem to be enjoying the rest so far.

[MegaCowsamMan]

I think the green units were timed well. Not too soon, but not too late, but I think its mostly the two fighters at the bridge that really slow it down a little bit. Maybe you could spread the fighters out above the bridge, which could require the player to make better use of the two dancers:

Maybe somethin’ like this.

Ideally, It’d be neat if the fighters had some sorta limited movement (like the bandits in chapter 4), but that could potentially cause a similar problem I have with the map.

Anywho, got through chapter 4.

Chapter 4

This chapter really showcased the value of a flier. Liked the enemy variety, with the fighters an’ all. Nice to finally get a healer though. Map flow was a thing that stood out to me, splitting felt really natural. Ward with the hammer would split at the bridge, while Fir would draw in the fighters at the bottom of the map.

Only thing that was a bit disappointing was Oro as the boss. Sure, he does a lot of damage, but I was never in any severe danger at any point, since I could make Ward attack, heal with Saul, rescue drop Saul, end turn. Perhaps increasing his speed could make some of my units less relyable to hit 'im.

On a side note, I really enjoy chapters 2-4 not having any healing units, to really showcase the rebel movement and lack of resources they have.

[SubwayBossEmmett]

Okay I finished my Deltarune addiction, I can now think about hacking again.

Honestly yeah, the first map had a structural change where you used to have t1 echidna kill both fighters asap but I realized I could squeeze some extra forced dialogue out via a recruitment talk.

The double fighter bridge structure and increased hit rates over the years certainly make it more tedious while being way more likely to get hit vs when this started. Very good feedback, I’ll probably change to what you showed here.

More specific feedback

Chapter 2

Excited you appreciated Wade and Lot’s differences! I always want to make sure the vibes of units are generally similar to how they are in vanilla even if everyone is more brought up to be stronger in a faster paced environment. FE6 to me does a really strong job for showing off unit personality via stats and I try to keep that when I can.

To the point I sincerely debating on making Sophia pretty bad when she joined. But low bulk and very low con will have to do…

@ the bottom right house:

Yeah I’ve seen a friend be way more (logically) cautious on approaching the Fir/Shin group. Ideally Shin can nab him over the wall but that’s only when being proactive. I will be pushing back the brigand another turn.

Usually a failsafe is to awkwardly bardtrain there but I don’t love that / don’t want the expectation to think you’re supposed to boringly move across the map like that.

Ch4 feedback:

I’m glad you enjoyed the split! It was def probably big for my first entirely custom map and the ones after are generally smaller but I think the timers worked out well.

I will say I generally kinda want bosses usually easy to deal with and the main challenge of a map is to get/do everything in it. More like ch3’s boss is a bit more of a formality vs getting all the recruitable units. Some bosses will def be tougher than others though.

Thanks again for playing!