Let's Talk Fire Emblem

[Nester the Lark]

So, I inadvertently took about a week off from Sacred Stones, but I've just gotten back to it. I've finished chapter 18, so I'm getting near the end. I'm wondering if I should try to do the tower before I get to the endgame. Is there a point of no return? Or any reason to do the tower outside of just for fun?

So far, I think I enjoy this game more than Blazing Blade, and at least as much as Shadow Dragon. I like being able to roam around a world map and do things between chapters, as well as the branching promotions. It makes the game feel a little more flexible. (I think Shadow Dragon let you change a character's class at any time, but I never messed with it.) Also, I like that it's only 20 chapters plus endgame. The shorter campaign keeps me from feeling too burned out, but the length can still be extended through optional content like the tower and skirmishes, so I can decide what kind of experience I want.

I did kinda miss the illustrations from Blazing Blade and Shadow Dragon, tho. There were certain story events that would've benefited from them, and their absence made it feel like Sacred Stones had a smaller budget.

Eirika and Ephraim are probably among my favorite FE lords, if mainly because of their sweet brother-sister relationship. The fact that they spend much of the game separated made it feel very satisfying when they were finally together. (Naturally, I maxed out their support level.) Neither of them had better die by the end...

I don't have much to say about the story until I finish the game.

Overall, out of the FE games I've played, I feel like this is the one I'd be most likely to replay, mainly to see Ephraim's route.

[Leon]

After you beat the final boss, you can explore the tower as much as you want, and even unlock some extra characters. As for the game feeling smaller budget, that's pretty accurate for its development. This game was announced after Path of Radiance was announced, and released before PoR, so that should give you a pretty good idea about it.

[Nester the Lark]

It took me a while to get around to it, but I finally finished Sacred Stones. I have now finished all the Fire Emblem games I own.

I don't really have much more to add from what I said before. I really enjoyed it, especially considering it's the third FE game I've finished since I started Shadow Dragon in November.

For the story... To be honest, I usually just glaze over the stories in FE, as well as many RPGs, but I did enjoy the story. I tend to be more interested in the characters, themselves, though, and I liked the cast overall at least as much as Blazing Blade's.

Special shout-out to Neimi, who is probably now my favorite FE bow-user. I wasn't sure how I felt about her at first, but then I realized that I can kinda relate to her, and I got really attached. I paired her with Artur and promoted her to a ranger, and they both ended up being some of my best units. Also, she came from a village named Lark, so what's not to love?

But now, I'm going to take a long break from FE until Three Houses comes out.