Fire Emblem 4 Let's Play

[WhamBamSam]

The Fire Emblem fanbase has a pretty strong showing here in the playground, much to my delight. However, the LPs and RPGs based on the series are based almost exclusively on the GBA and Gamecube titles, which saddens me as the SNES titles FE4 and FE5 are my personal favorites. To remedy this, I will be doing this LP of FE4 for your collective enjoyment as well as brewing a version of the Forum Emblem game based on FE5's ruleset.

Some things about how this LP will go:

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1. For those who don't know, FE4 takes place over the course of two generations. The children of parents from the First Generation make up a large portion of the characters in the Second. If people want to suggest pairings I'll be listening. I may not go with every suggestion, but I will try to err on the side of what the audience wants, and will at least offer an explanation when I veto something.

2. I'm not sure if I'll be doing this Nuzlocke style or not as of yet. It depends on what people want to see. Voice your opinions.

3. There are some elements of the story that can get a bit squicky, most notably some instances of incest. One or two of these are unavoidable elements of the story, but the majority are potential choices which I can opt not to make if necessary. I know that the Crack Pairings thread was closed down because of an Elan/Nale story, but there's nothing graphic in the game, so I think that it should still be forum appropriate, but y'know fair warning.

Now without further ado, let's get this show on the road.

Prologue - 1: History! Politics! Exposition!

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So the prevailing form of government around here went from a republic to a theocracy to a monarchy. That's... interesting.










Lord Byron has a pretty sweet beard.





Then why are you mentioning him at all I wonder...

Has he tried warning anyone?











Is that where we're headed then?

Guess not.



But of course, the fact that you've bothered to tell us this means that-

Yeah...







Suck it up.


That's more like it!




Dun Dun Dunnnhhh


Except that Bishop Claude fellow, apparently.

EDIT: Had some weird size issues on this one, but I've at least gotten it to the point where none of the images are huge. Will be better in future updates.

[Istari]

Ohhh Genealogy of the Holy War, one of the weirder Fire Emblems, but very interesting.

Definitely no Nuzlocke, the game is killer enough as it is. And if I remember correctly it has a end of turn save feature, which considering the rest of the series should speak for its difficultly.

[Comet]

Yes! I love me some FE4 and will be reading with great interest.

[WhamBamSam]

Ohhh Genealogy of the Holy War, one of the weirder Fire Emblems, but very interesting.

Definitely no Nuzlocke, the game is killer enough as it is. And if I remember correctly it has a end of turn save feature, which considering the rest of the series should speak for its difficultly.

I think that the ability to save every turn has more to do with the length of the chapters than the difficulty of the game. Part of the reason why I chose FE4 over FE5 for this was that I felt that the comparative difficulty and the existence of the Valkyrie Staff left the door open for a Nuzlocke. The other, larger part of the reason was that I just finished a FE5 run, and as much as I love the game, I wasn't in a hurry to go through it again.

Still, I wasn't going to Nuzlocke unless a bunch of people were clamoring for it. It's great in Pokemon where you occasionally need something to knock you out of your comfort zone, but Fire Emblem has a knack for keeping the player on their guard.

Anyway, update time.

Prologue - 2: Expository Dialogue and Expedient Reinforcements

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Hmm... It seems that we have a bit of a situation on our hands.





Midir: *Gulp*






















So you're going to leave the fat guy behind while you go off to play knight in shining armor. Strikes me as kind of mean, but then again, war is rarely pretty.

The least you could do is not make fun of him.


Better, if a bit patronizing.

Alright then, time to get to work.
Sigurd: Excuse me, but who the hell are you? And where the hell are you, I can't see any source for your voice.
You needn't worry about that. Just follow my instructions and you'll achieve your goals.
Oifaye: But Sir, you said that I would be acting as your advisor.
Change of plans. I don't doubt that you're a cut above the average 14 year old when it comes to military strategy, but my tactical prowess is quite literally magical. By way of example...

Sigurd: Gah! What are you doing?
I'm assessing your capabilities. Hmm...


Hmm... That's interesting. There's a circle marked 'Baldo' glowing wildly.
Oifaye: That must be an indication of his Holy Blood. Lord Sigurd is a direct descendant of one of the 12 Crusaders.
Neat. Let's see what your knights have to offer to this team.









Meh, could be worse. No Holy Blood and it looks like Alec is the only one of you three who has the ability to double attack, though Noish can critically hit. (In contrast to some of the other FE titles, double attacking in FE4 only works if a unit has the Pursuit skill, but Pursuit will allow a unit to double against any lower attack speed, rather than needing a difference of 4 AS as is the norm in later installments. Similarly, Critical is a skill, though there are some ways to Critically hit without being born with the skill which we'll get into later on.)
Alright, now time for some action finally. Sigurd, go make that guy over there stop breathing.

Sigurd: Can do.
Awesome. Alec, Noish, follow after Sigurd. In fact, Ardan, you can come too.
Ardan: Really?
Really. We'll have to take care to ensure that none of Verdane's troops get near Chalphy, but I think we should be able to manage that. Now, I wonder what the enemy is up to.









Irony.



Sigurd. Gandolf is taking Aideen away.


How is he moving that quickly?



I can't tell you how many happy marriages have started as kidnappings. Oh wait, yes I can. Zero. The number is zero.






Sigurd: Bring it!

Noish: For Chalphy!








Looks like we're going to get some help after all.
Sigurd: Really? Who?
Some guys named Azel and Lex.
Sigurd: That's great!
Well we'll see won't we.







Yeah, not bad. Azel's magic will be useful and Lex seems to be a very solid addition to our cavalry. Also, they have some glowing on their Holy Blood circles, though it's not as bright as Sigurd's.
Oifaye: That means that they share in the bloodlines of Holy Warriors, but do not inherit the full power of the bloodline.
Sigurd: Not to interrupt, but I'm sort of bleeding here. I'm not sure we can keep sustaining injuries at this rate.
We'll think of something, in the meantime go kill that Archer over there then run back so that the guys with Axes can't reach you.

Sigurd: Die!
Arden and Noish take care of the guy who just attacked Noish. Alec go for the Bandit that's attacking that Village.

Graaah!

You are no match for a real knight.

Barbarians! Leave these people be!
That'll work, now then, Lex, Azel.
Lex: Huh? Who said that? And How do you know our names?
Let's just say I'm offering your friend Sigurd some tactical advice, which means that, by extension, I'm offering you two tactical advice. Just trust me and we'll win.
Lex: Hm... Well I'll give you a shot, but it had better be good advice.
Great. Azel go incinerate that Bandit.
Azel: Um... Alright.
(Azel killed the bandit with Fire, but I messed up getting the screen capture)
Lex, go warn that village about the attacking bandits.
Lex: Why can't you warn them? You just got all the way here from Chalphy, surely you can reach the village.
Only people in Sigurd's army will be able to hear me.
Lex: And why's that?
Because of reasons.
Lex: Whatever. Hey! You! Villagers! Verdane is invading. Secure the village.

Lex: They don't seem to be all that concerned.


Okay, good to know.


We'll keep that in mind. Just sit tight there, Lex. We'll let the enemy come to us.

Lex: Boom! Axe to the face!

Sigurd! More people are showing up to hep us!






It's your sister and brother in law, and it sounds like your sister will be able to heal your injuries.


I'll just have a quick look at what we're working with, here.



/FE4P160.jpg[/IMG]





Nice. Alright! Now it's time to take back Jungby!

[WhamBamSam]

The lack of comments saddens me, but ah well. I shall soldier on. I derped a bit with some of the image capturing but thanks to the translation page on SF I can reproduce all of the dialogue. Also, I'm not really sure what to do about level ups. This game shows the stat increases one at a time, so a single screen cap doesn't really show much.

Prologue - 3: Some Action Finally

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Ardan, move up to draw in that enemy. Alec, fall back a bit. Noish, finish off that bandit and visit the village.

Noish: Citizens! The bandit threat has been dealt with for the time being, but I urge you to bar your gates and stay vigilant until Verdane's invasion has been repelled.



Sigurd, move back a bit so Ethlin can make it over to heal you.













d'awww







Oh right. Sure you haven't.


Cuan: Sigurd, what's the deal with the voice that's talking to us. I'm not going mad am I?
Sigurd: No. I'm not sure where it came from, but it's been giving me tactical advice.
Cuan: Are you sure it's trustworthy?
Sigurd: Seems to be. So far at least.
Cuan: If you say so.
In the future we should find a way to relieve our recruits' fears about hearing voices quietly. I get the feeling that this is going to get old after a while.

Azel, take care of the guy nearest to you, then you and Lex just sit tight for a second.

Azel: Ha!

Ardan: Missed me.

Lex: Ugh.

Lex: Dammit. Take that!
Alec, Noish, Fin, take care of the one that just attacked Ardan.

Alec: These guys can sure take a lot of punishment.

Noish: Don't worry we've almost got him.

Fin: He's down.
Okay. Ethlin, heal Noish up with your staff.

Ethlin: There you go.
Good. Next, Cuan can soften up that one over there with his javelin. Ardan can deliver the final blow.

Cuan: Suck on that!

Ardan: Bam. Down you go!
Sigurd, you should be able to take that last one down on your own.

Sigurd: Whoo!
Nice. Over to the other front then. Azel, take care of the one with the Hand Axe.

Crap, forgot how much it takes to kill these guys. Well, at least he missed. Lex, finish him off, then head for the church to heal up.

Lex: Die already.

Sigurd: Is this the best you can do?


Sigurd: You won't stop me.
Yes. Keep going. Lex, finish off that last enemy, then you and Azel can head off to the other villages.

Lex: He's down.
Good. Ethlin heal Sigurd, then we can start taking out the last few guards around the castle.

Ethlin: Be careful, Sigurd.



Cuan: Ow.

Ethlin: Ah! Stay back!
It doesn't look like the castle guards are going to leave their posts. Cuan, keep whittling away at the same one with your javelin. Alec, Noish, and Fin take down the one running around with a Hand Axe.











Ethlin: Ow!

Cuan: Stay away from my wife!
Noish, finish off the Archer. Alec, Fin, and Ethlin take care of the one with the Hand Axe. Sigurd, go help that village before it's completely burned down.






Villager: You came to save us!? I thought we were doomed! I've got a ring for you in appreciation.



Nice.

Lex: Made it! Don't worry, we'll have Verdane out of your hair soon.
We're almost there. Let's just clear out these last few, then move in on the castle.




Fin: Urgh... *gasp* there!

Ethlin: There you go Fin.

Lex: That got him! Looks like he did some pretty serious damage though.






Azel: Leave these people be!

Nice that you managed not to burn down the rest of the village along with the bandit.




"Lord" is a bit much for a glorified bandit don't you think?



Sigurd: Just a bit more.

Sigurd: Got him!






Alright, good to know. Sigurd, take the castle.



Midir: I don't know. Gandolf was here though...
Sigurd: Is that right... Well, don't worry. I'll get her back. Give yourself some time to heal up.
Midir: No, Sigurd. I must join you. I can't begin to tell you how worried I am about her!

[Deme]

I just noticed this thread, and read through it. I've always been curious about FE4, but never had any experience with it...So I'll be no help arranging ships or the like... As for level-ups... Maybe try a before and after sort of thing? That way, we can see all the gains clearly.

[WhamBamSam]

I just noticed this thread, and read through it. I've always been curious about FE4, but never had any experience with it...So I'll be no help arranging ships or the like... As for level-ups... Maybe try a before and after sort of thing? That way, we can see all the gains clearly.

I might start doing that next update - I'd already taken all the screencaps for this one by the time I read your post. I've just been somewhat lazy about getting the update written up - but honestly, it's hard to really have anyone end up particularly RNG screwed or blessed in FE4. A lot of what makes a unit good or bad in FE4 is the weapons that they have access to. The only way of getting an item from one unit to another is by having the first character sell it at the pawn shop and the other buy it back, and of course there are the weapons which are tied to the various Holy Bloodlines. Moreover, every weapon can be repaired for money at any castle, so whatever almighty deathsword you might have which would be too awesome to use in later installments is equipped essentially all the time.

As for pairings, anyone is welcome to recommend anything based on any reasoning. My usual setup is pretty heavily weighted toward optimization rather than flavor, which isn't as much fun for the readers. If you think two characters would be cute together or whatever, go ahead and suggest it. I'll try to go with some of the suggestions, and will at least explain why some pairings don't really work.

Prologue - 4: Ending of an Invasion

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Bring it.

Hey Sigurd. Someone just arrived from the north. I think it's that Alvis guy. I recognize his face.

Hey! Alright, what's this guy's deal?

Holy...


Damn...
Oifaye: Lord Alvis is a descendant of the Holy Warrior Fala, and the inheritor of the Falaflame.
Yeah, I can see that. Hey... What's that purple circle in the middle of his Holy Blood chart. I don't think any of you guys had that.
Oifaye: I'm not sure. Probably not important though.
Hmm... Well, whatever. Let's get everyone healed up and prepare to meet the Verdane army.
Sigurd: Yeah, we'll push them out of Grandbell for good this time!




Sigurd: Here they come.




Alec: Hah can't even touch me.
Okay, let's go. Azel, Midir, start softening up some of the ones that can't hit you back.


Oops. He's a bit too fast for you to double him. Didn't notice that. That's alright, though, Cuan will be able to finish him off.

Cuan: Got him!

Lex: He's almost down.






Ardan, finish off the one that Lex just attacked.

Ardan: Hah! Got him.


Alec: This one's on his last legs!

Sigurd: This one too.
Noish and Fin, finish off those two. Ethlin, heal Lex.

Fin: Got him.

Noish: He's down.

Ethlin: There. Is that better?

Fin: Phew. Missed.

Fin: I got lucky on that one.

Alec: I dunno. These barbarians can't seem to hit anything.
You do have a better relative position on the weapon triangle though Alec.

What the ****.
Oifaye: That's Lord Alvis' Falaflame spell.
Damn... Hey, Sigurd, Cuan, where are your Holy Weapons anyway?
Sigurd: Our fathers are using them in other wars.
That's too bad. Alright, regain composure... Lex and Cuan take down the archer that's running around the ruined part of the village, Sigurd and Fin handle the one with the Hand Axe. Alec hit the other archer then ride back to the rest of the army, it looks like if we can just hold out through one more of their charges we'll win the battle.













I don't blame you.



Here they come.



That's it?



Oooh Shiny





As you aren't part of Sigurd's army, and thus can't hear me: d'awwwwwwww.





And there he goes. Ah well. We can handle this ourselves. Just one more big push!










Good, just a couple loose ends left to tie together.


Isn't flying through the air supposed to make you more vulnerable to archers?





Now it's time to make our assault on Evans Castle.





Alright, Azel, I'm going to give you a shot at delivering the final blow.

Azel: I'll make you all pay for taking Aideen!

Gerrard: Prince Gandolf's got her.




So we're going to invade and presumably subjugate an entire nation over a single kidnapping? I don't suppose we've considered diplomacy at all?
Sigurd: Do you really think that they'd just give her up?
Maybe not, but something about this is fishy. Someone in Verdane had to know that they'd be smacked down if they invaded Grandbell. I mean, they were talking about pushing all the way to Bahara, but even if Alvis were the only one there to protect King Azmur, he probably could take out their entire army by himself.