Title: Tell me your FE Overhyped Takes
Title says it all. Drop your FE overhyped takes like it’s Vision Quest.
Is The Last Promise overhyped? Is Fire Emblem Gilmore Girls overhyped? Should all hacks be overhyped?
I wanna know, tell me FEU!
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What if… FEU is overhyped???
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oh undeniably, Gilmore Girls is a pillar we have convinced ourselves to be the peak of all live-action tv show based hackroms, when all the while a true masterpiece lies hidden right under our noses…
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This thread is very strange to me because it assumes Vision Quest is held up as some sacred cow beyond reproach, when most prominent members of this community have their own share of criticisms for it. It’s a well liked hack, especially for its legacy. But it’s never been treated as a uniquely good hack, one that surpasses its peers in all aspects of quality. Pandan himself even has a Youtube video where they describe some things they wish they had done differently.
What Vision Quest is, and has been for the past four years, is a really effective choice for a starter hack. For the longest time, the Last Promise was treated as the automatic starting point. While I think the Last Promise holds up fine, it’s what you’d expected a fan project to be. Its design is very similar to Fe7 while trying to be a harder game. There are some spots that can cause frustration. The story, while enjoyable, is very juvenile in presentation and framing. I do think it’s overstated, but there is a reason why Kelik edgy memes have survived the test of time.
Vision Quest, by comparison, tells a solid and grounded story while having gameplay that’s more in line with modern hack sensibilities. Even if a newer hack player doesn’t complete the rather long campaign, there’s a much higher chance of them looking for other hacks they might enjoy. The reason Vision Quest is recommended so often is because it shows vanilla Fe players what hacking is capable of while being safe enough to not alienate newer players.
As more hacks are being [Complete], Vision Quest might lose this status. I personally think the newly released Dream of Five is a great pick for a starter hack, albeit perhaps a bit too difficult for a casual vanilla player. If this thread had been titled “Is Vision Quest the best starter hack?”, I imagine this conversation would have been more productive and interesting. Although I doubt productive conversation was the original goal.
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As it happens, I was considering writing an addendum specifically on that topic because I know it comes up a lot.
I think a better starter hack exists nowadays, and that would be Shackled Power.
It takes the usual trappings of Fire Emblem (evil empire against good kingdom, shady dark mage behind it all, demon lord) and rather than feeling weirdly constricted by them, it takes them as aspects to explore and deepen.
No skills, classic gameplay and story, a good handful of secrets for veteran players while remaining accessible to new players, and just enough fangame uniqueness (the bombs) to be a good introduction to the idea of new mechanics without completely turning how you play Fire Emblem on its head.
On top of having very strong characters you can latch on to, which I think is important when you’re selling something to a Fire Emblem fan, a community that loves the personal aspect.
Plus, it has a really cool and solid endgame, in a field where lots of fangames, even great ones, tend to trip over themselves at the finish line.
Also also, Pegasus Triangle Attack.
You’re not a real FE GBA game without a Triangle Attack.
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I dropped Vision Quest.
Oh boy, I said it, here we go, time to get crucified like it’s the 15th century.
Months ago, I finally popped open VQ. I got to 1–7 before I put it down. That’s fair, isn’t it? Because at that point, VQ has had more than 5 chapters to sink its claws into me. Unfortunately, it never did. The community holds VQ as “one of the best hacks ever made”, with top-tier gameplay, storytelling, and presentation in line with modern hack sensibilities.
That’s the issue.
It’s sensible. It doesn’t break convention. It doesn’t stray from what you’d expect a modern vanilla plus to be.
My thoughts while giving VQ the five-chapter test vaguely went:
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“Right, where have I seen this one before?”
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“Where’s the hype?”
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“Huh, that’s cool.”
I’ve been around since FE hacking was an infant. I remember inserting the Cloud Strife buster sword animation with FEditor in FE7 and running into Java runtime errors. I’ve read the Ultimate Tutorial from front to back. My favorite romhack is the Zombie Hack by Cedar and company. My lukewarm thoughts regarding VQ could be me just being an FE boomer. It could also be me just being a veteran who’s looking for something a little more adventurous, a little more daring, while retaining a serious and soulful tone.
I binged Code of the Black Knights by the way.
TLDR: In context, VQ is overhyped.
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Hello everyone, BigMood here. I am not here to advertise Dies today because I do not want to write dialogue for any of you freaks.
However, Spense brings up a good point about framing questions productively, and so I wanted to instead drop a link to a brief instructional I made about how to ask questions effectively and honestly, inspired by, wow, the last random community thread we had about Vision Quest*.
*Correction: it was actually inspired by this thread it’s been three weeks how is this still going
I encourage you all to play the iCarly hack.
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Ah, “Vision Quest.” That somewhat enigmatic, slightly esoteric piece of cinematic history that has been both lauded and criticized, depending on whom you ask and what day of the week it is. It’s one of those films that seems to spark endless debate about its value, its impact, and its place in the pantheon of '80s movies. You see, it’s almost as if “Vision Quest” is an odd, mysterious artifact from a bygone era, a time capsule of sorts that invites a multitude of interpretations, some of which are fervent in their admiration while others are equally fervent in their dismissal. And therein lies the heart of the question: Is “Vision Quest” overrated? Let’s unpack this, shall we?
First and foremost, we have to recognize that “Vision Quest” is undeniably a product of its time. Released in 1985, it embodies the ethos and the aesthetic of mid-'80s cinema with all its attendant quirks and idiosyncrasies. The film, directed by Harold Becker and starring a young Matthew Modine, is essentially a coming-of-age story wrapped in a sports drama, with a generous sprinkling of the kind of inspirational, sometimes syrupy elements that defined many films of the era. It’s about a high school wrestler, Louden Swain, who embarks on a quest to challenge the reigning state champion, a plotline that may seem straightforward but is laced with deeper themes of self-discovery, determination, and the perennial struggle against the odds.
Now, on one hand, the film is often celebrated for its earnestness. The earnestness with which it approaches its subject matter, the sincerity with which it portrays its protagonist’s journey—these are qualities that have won it a dedicated fan base. There’s something almost nostalgic about its attempt to capture the spirit of a young athlete striving for greatness, a narrative that resonates with those who see themselves in Louden’s quest, not merely as a physical challenge but as a metaphorical one. The soundtrack, the training montages, the motivational speeches—they all contribute to an atmosphere that feels quintessentially '80s.
Yet, conversely, there’s a camp that views “Vision Quest” through a different lens, one that is perhaps a tad less charitable. This perspective suggests that the film’s charm is more a product of its time than a testament to its inherent quality. They argue that its plot is somewhat predictable, its character development rather thin, and its thematic ambitions perhaps slightly inflated by the sentimental lens through which it is viewed. The critique here isn’t necessarily about the film being bad, but rather about whether it has been imbued with more significance than it deserves, given its relative simplicity and the somewhat formulaic nature of its narrative.
Let’s not overlook the role of nostalgia in this conversation. The film enjoys a certain cachet among those who grew up watching it, and nostalgia can often blur the lines between genuine artistic merit and sentimental value. For those who were there in the '80s, “Vision Quest” might evoke a certain fondness, a longing for the days when things seemed more straightforward and every quest had the potential for an epic resolution. For others, however, this nostalgia might be seen as an overinflated sense of the film’s significance, with the result being a movie that’s perhaps held in higher regard than it might warrant under more objective scrutiny.
And then there’s the question of impact. Did “Vision Quest” influence the genre? Did it contribute anything significant to the broader cultural conversation, or was it simply a footnote in the annals of sports dramas? The debate here can be as nuanced as it is polarized. Some might argue that the film’s impact is subtle but enduring, inspiring a generation of young athletes and moviegoers with its themes of perseverance and personal growth. Others might contend that its impact is overstated, with the film being one of many similar narratives that came and went without leaving a lasting mark.
So, is “Vision Quest” overrated? Well, it’s a question that seems to defy a definitive answer, primarily because it’s inextricably tied to subjective experience and the varying ways in which people connect with it. To some, it’s a beloved classic, a poignant reminder of youthful ambition and resilience. To others, it might be a charming but ultimately inconsequential relic of its era, perhaps more celebrated than it strictly merits. The film’s value seems to hinge on the viewer’s perspective, their personal memories, and their appreciation of the genre, making it a quintessential example of how art—and cinema, in particular—can be both celebrated and critiqued in endlessly fascinating ways.
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its a cinematic masterpiece
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Is this you, chief?
Edit:
Funny number identified
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Ok, you got me Ericc. I’m the same one who made the post before. It’s been a long time since I played Vision Quest, if I play it again, my opinion will change or remain the same.
As for the reason for making this post. I got it from a certain someone who believe that Vision Quest is overhyped and that gave me an idea in the first place. I would’ve place a poll on the Vision Quest thread, but fear that I face consequences as a result. So that’s how it all happened.
This has absolutely no substance.
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No, go on, why would you think that you’d face consequences, and why would posting it in a separate thread change those reasons?
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The reason I face these consequences because this will grab the attention of the mods and would find a reason to berate me for how dumb am I than I didn’t create this thread in the first place and spark another controversy in the FEUniverse.
I am painfully aware that if I did a post involving a poll on the Vision Quest thread and it will draw the same conclusion, but worse.
Does that answer your question?
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Right, well, I think that’s enough of an admission that this is about Mangs and what he may or may not think is overrated that we can say that you’ve gotten your answer.
I chose to leave the thread open for this long because I believed there was legitimate conversation to be had (and there has been real discussion on what people did or did not like about the project), but this conversation really should go in the project thread. I don’t want to normalize making big callout threads like this, and we should have shut this down when it began to spiral into real conversation instead of shitposts.
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