I’ve still never actually played the original FE 1-3. Skipped them and played their remakes, even when playing every other FE in a row. Do those 3 do anything that makes them worth playing and thinking about today?
3 Likes
Personally? I think it’s good to try. You might never know you like something until you try it.
The earlier games were certainly less balanced. You had characters who could solo a map and characters who were bench warmers and nothing in between.
You also had some weird experimental stuff like Barons being able to warp over most of the map, Soldiers being unable to use ranged lances, and dragonstones transforming Tiki into a dragon on-map for a set few turns.
As far as lore goes, Xane’s very interesting and mechanically unique and it’s a shame he never showed up outside of Akaneia (and Heroes I guess). It’s also a bit of a shame that in HoLaS most of his supports are comedy instead of the fascinating lore about the dragon brethren but I take what I can get.
If you like Avatars, FE12 has the first one. Whether or not it was well-handled is a controversial topic, but you do have some romantic supports and a little subplot and cute accessories. There’s some fascinating unique difficulty levels for Shadow Dragon. And I’ve always loved the 80s-90s art style and colour scheme of Mystery of the Emblem.
Also I’m obliged to shill for Gamma. He really wants more people to play Gaiden, and who am I to judge?
6 Likes
so I was going to write a longer reply about how their all worth it to an extent (fe1 and fe2 can be clunky but there still worth at least giving a shot, fe1 has weirdly solid and intuitive map design, and fe2 is fun to cheese but def play on easy mode to avoid grinding), but I think this should make my intentions a little more clear:
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLAY FE3 PLAY FE3 PLAY FE3 ITS PEAK THAT SO LITTLE PEOPLE TALK ABOUT PLEASE PLAY FE3 PLAY FE3 PLAYFE3 PLEAAASSE
9 Likes
feel free to take this with a grain of salt because gaiden is my favorite game ever but YES!!! YOU SHOULD!!! the remakes are not the same games as the originals. theyre quite good games but do have some huge differences that i think arent wholly positive. forges, combat arts (in echoes), reclassing (in dsfe), and nerfs to lots of centralizing mechanics in the original give the new games a completely different feel not only outside of combat but in combat itself. they may feel similar at the beginning but once the games really open up you can feel the different design ethos the old games were working with. the games also hold up WAY better than people give them credit for. with fe1 and 2 if you play on an emulator and are willing to use speedup you should be fine. with fe3 youre honestly probably fine playing it on hardware
6 Likes
Yeah play the first three games. They’re pretty good. Gaiden is pretty fun with speedup on emulators.
FE3 is just as playable as the Jugdral games, no idea why it’s being lumped in with the first two games. Definitely worth checking out as it’s very easy to get into and has a new translation patch.
FE1: https://www.romhacking.net/translations/2800/ (or the Switch version if you can get it)
FE2: Project Dumasday: Fire Emblem Gaiden Translation
FE3: [FE3] Heroes of Light: A new complete and modern translation/localization patch!
8 Likes
I like FE2 debatably more than SoV, which is wild to say and definitely controversial. I just think that Gaiden has a certain charm that is lost in the overproduced 3D era. Only reason I consider giving SoV the potential edge is Berkut, my favorite Fire Emblem character.
FE3 is also very fun, I recommend it over New Mystery and Shadow Dragon.
In all, yeah, I think 2 & 3 are worth playing. 1 is alright, but you’re better off playing through FE3 book 1 instead.
4 Likes
I’d still say FE1 is worth checking out since Book 1 lacks a few maps and has completely different mechanics.
Yeah I think the biggest loss is not being able to revive units from the other army. Ig it makes sense with the focus on characterization in the remake. Imagine sending Boey or Mae to Alm’s army or Gray/Tobin to Celica’s in SoV! 
4 Likes
What do you think of Sacred Echoes? Do you think it’s still overproduced or something else?
1 Like
Never played Sacred Echoes, so I’m not able to formulate an opinion there. That said, it’s on my list of hacks to play through once I finish Persona 3 Reload.
4 Likes
Try them and find out. FE has so much variance in gameplay that most people won’t be in the community for the same reasons as you.
4 Likes
It’s alright tbh. Production quality is off the charts. Gameplay… eh. 
It plays worse than both vanilla Valentia games.
If you want Gaiden with FE8 map design then Sacred Echoes is serviceable. Otherwise I wouldn’t recommend it over SoV or even Gaiden for a first Valentia playthrough.
4 Likes
yes
they are all different experiences to learn something from
4 Likes
Play FE3 for the love of god. It’s the most overlooked game in the series outside of japan for some bizarre reason, despite it being basically the FE equivalent of Link to the Past. And we have a whole new translation patch from last year that I’m very proud of, so play it. Don’t lump FE3 with the two NES games.
11 Likes
Gonna throw my lot into the “they’re all worth playing” camp.
Maybe a hot take, but I sincerely think FE1’s clunky UI and “control feel” comprise the majority of what holds it back from being just wholly a really good Fire Emblem game. As it is, it’s mostly a really good Fire Emblem game that unfortunately suffers from poor control feel.
FE2 is interesting. I do think how much it will jive with a person is somewhat dependent on how much concept and ambition matter to them in a game, since Gaiden has that in spades. The lack of combat arts and smaller equipment arsenal contribute to a different game feel compared to SoV, along with some changes to the story between the two. Certain items, particularly the Speed and Angel Rings, were dramatically nerfed in SoV compared to Gaiden, where they give massive boons. It’s a different game with a different vibe and different team-building options.
FE3 is just a really solid game all around, for the most part. I have some issues with a lack of player unit variety on indoor maps due to dismounting, especially in Book 2 with its halved recruitable armor knight count and total lack of playable axe-users, but aside from that, I think the game really shines. Its formulas sit somewhere between FE1’s and what would catch on as more standard in the series, and I think it’s actually a nice middle ground. The maps are built first and foremost around putting you in a situation that reflects and reinforces the story, and a majority of the chapters have something interesting going on to consider beyond just reaching the throne to end them. It’s not afraid to throw some pretty scary enemies at you, but they’re always manageable and you always have the tools to do something about them. FE3 is, from what I gather, sorta Fire Emblem’s “The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past”; a beloved and formative classic installment in the series.
Honestly, I’d say all of the first three installments are “required reading” for anyone who wants to really understand Fire Emblem on a core and/or developmental level. You will have to accustom yourself to the ‘90s-ness of their control feel, but if you can get over that hurdle, you’ll find some really cool and, IMO, even inspiring games.
9 Likes
Haven’t finished FE3 yet, so I can’t give proper thoughts on it, but it does seem legitimately solid and enjoyable.
FE1 though? I’m gonna be honest, I hated my time with it. Everything was so clunky and unintuitive, the maps felt miserable to play, and balance was all over the place in the worst way possible.
FE2 was a similar experience to FE1, but significantly more enjoyable. It was broken as hell, but in a much more entertaining way for me. That said, it was still very clunky and a huge slog.
Ultimately, in my opinion, the NES games are not really worth playing for more than just the novelty and ability to say you’ve played them. Many people will probably disagree with me, but I really do not think they are fun games to play for the most part.
1 Like
FE3 is peak
2 Likes
Saying this right in front of me is always soooooo cruel…
Yeah, it’s a formative building block for the series as a whole as well. It’s the “finding its identity and footing” entry here. If you’re mulling over which version of the Akaneia saga to play and can’t choose, FE3 is probably the best middle ground.
3 Likes
FE3 is absolutely worth playing!!! It’s hard to explain everything I love about this game but to me it just represents everything good about FE gameplay and even storytelling to an extent.
First of all, it’s so different in both story and gameplay from its remake that FE12 alone is honestly not sufficient enough to get the full Book 2 experience. Several tidbits of lore don’t make it into FE12 such as the cool intro of the original as well as the secret ending if you play through both books consecutively while recruiting everyone as well as keeping all of them alive.
But also it’s just a really solid game in general. Like its remake, the map design is pretty solid (well for the most part anyway), even standing out compared to the rest of the series. While the story is fairly standard on the surface, there’s a lot of interesting lore if you delve a bit deeper, and it also does a good job integrating the story into the gameplay.
Gameplay mechanics result in a very different experience from FE12. The game has some pretty strong enemies scattered throughout the game like the earlygame dracoknights with their absurd defensive stats as well as all the dragons throughout the midgame with 1-2 range and ignores defense. It also doesn’t help that HP in general is super low in this game. Stat caps of 20 as well as exp gain not being dependent on level or promotion encourage you to promote units as quickly as possible. It sort of results in that feeling you get in Thracia of getting powerful tools very quickly but you still have to take the enemy seriously, and you don’t have to worry that much about how your units will perform in the lategame. Dismounting also strongly encourages different unit variety as mounts can struggle in indoor maps.
I can’t explain everything I like about the gameplay without writing a huge wall of text but there’s a reason this game is beloved in Japan (it’s not just nostalgia). It’s no exaggeration to call it the Link to the Past of FE. Furthermore, a new translation patch came out recently which just makes the game look so much better in general. There is no better time to play it than now!
6 Likes
didn’t liked it that much
Yeah I think more people should play all the Famicom/Super Famicom entries. They have a very particular charm to them, I would somehow describe as a dream… i think it also has a pervasive theme of hope and triumph even in the dark times. The way they play is only somewhat frustrating (like Wait being at the top of the menu over Staff) but I think you can get used to it easily.
7 Likes