Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade

One of my "mains" in Super Smash Brothers: Ultimate is Lucina. Her name sounds close enough to my beloved Lucy, so I just kinda went with it. And, ya know, redhead alts... I also enjoyed Byleth the few times I played her. Those two inspired me to try out some Fire Emblem, but I never have. Recently playing Bahamut Lagoon, though, spurred me to finally give one a try. I wanted a game with a SSBU representative in it, but with my circumstances, those were hard to come by. Firstly, Marth is also a true main of a friend, so he's out. Secondly, all the other platoon of could-bes are from systems I don't have, nor will I be able to get easily. I have problems running a DS emulator, so I assume the 3DS is out of the question. So that leaves me with good ol' Ike! The star of one installment, The Binding Blade, for the Gameboy Advance. Will my foray into Fire Emblem be fun? How much will I save scum to avoid permadeath? Will I scream on the internet about there being too many FE characters in SSBU? Let's find out!

I played the tutorial last night and lost, so we're off to a great start! Despite that embarrassment, I started a normal playthrough tonight. We begin with a small history lesson about the world. Long ago, dragons and humans fought a war against each other. Despite common sense, it was the humans who won. In defeat, the remaining dragons left this world. 1000 years have passed since then.
We then cut a geography lesson about the modern day kingdoms of the continent of Elibe, which sorta looks like Europe. One of the strongest kingdoms, Bern, has recently begun a campaign to conquer the entirety of the continent. It has already taken Siberia Sacae and is now on the doorstep of Lycia. Our hero, Roy, has been off at school for some time but has recently received commands from his father, Marquess Eliwood, to return home. Roy takes a few of his friends with him, and we get there just in time.

Chapter 1: Dawn of Destiny
As we approach, a knight from the castle informs us that they're under attack by bandits. Roy's dad, Eliwood, was a legendary fight (who got his own game...) but is too ill to fight. His not-girlfriend, Lilina, daughter of another Marquess, is also there.

The first fight has us against thieves and bandits. It lets us learn a few of the basics, such as the Weapon Triangle system: a rock/paper/scissors thing but replaced with Sword/Axe/Lance. You can also visit towns and huts around the map, and they usually give you advice, money, or healing potions. We'll be up against thirteen axe wielders, one bowman, and the boss will also have an axe. We mostly have spearmen, one guy with a bow, and Roy's sword. Most characters can quip a few weapons, and our horseback units will also have a sword. Make your way up the coast slowly since getting swarmed by everyone will end badly. Right now, two or three hits can kill an ally, and Fire Emblem is known for having permadeath in its units. I hate and despise that mechanic, so I'll admit it early: I'm going to save scum. No one will die because I am a time god. I don't care; deal with it. The boss at the end will not move, so we'll need to gang up on him. Wolt and Lance can attack from afar, and Roy/sword will harm the axed leader more than other weapon types. The goal of this map is "Seize," which means Roy (I assume it's only him) must stand on the castle.

Afterwards, we'll meet up with Eliwood and Lilina. They're both fine, and the gates held. We then discuss what's to come. Roy will march toward the frontline and defend the country in place of Eliwood. Lilina will want to go with and be our mage, but Eliwood thinks that's a bad idea. Her father, Hector, is at the front lines, which leaves her part of the country without a leader. Eliwood thinks this makes the citizens a bit scared and suggests she be the leader until Hector returns. Lilina reluctantly agrees. Eliwood informs us he hired a mercenary band to aid us, tells the court something-or-other, Merlinus, to follow Roy, and we head to the front.


Chapter 2: The Princess of Bern

We approach the rocky border of Lycia and Bern. But we're not on screen rather, it's an enemy. The castle is wondering where the Princess of Bern, Guinevere, has gone, but the knight in charge of her is unsure where. A general is worried about her but can only return home to inform her liege. She demands the underling find the Princess and flies off on her pegasus. Suddenly, the knight turns sour. He and a private check to see if the Princess is still locked in the cellar. She is. They start to worry again because her Maiden in Waiting has gotten free. Our group enters the scene across the mountain as a woman in white runs up to us. Eventually, we learn this is Elan, the maiden we (the player) heard about a moment ago. She asks us to help save a friend of hers who's been looking for us. We agree, and more enemies ender from the south. They say they'll going to kill us, and we enter combat.

Elan is the first healer in the game, so keep her away from the front lines. She almost died in my game, which means I nearly lost a few more. Despite the name, Merlinous isn't a mage. He's the guy in charge of inventory management, which I already hate. Our characters can only hold so much, so we'll probably need to return to him to restock. It sounds tedious... This is a long fight, so be defensive. There are a few places of interest on the map, such as a village, smaller houses, and two merchants. There are also forts, which increase the defense of whoever is standing on them, and it heals them per turn. After the first turn, our reinforcements will arrive. These are the mercenaries dad bought, and they're right smack in the middle of the battlefield, but they're also near to forts. It turns out forts are OP. I had the axe guys standing on the two blocking the mountain path, and they barely got hurt. It let them do a lot of damage, too, so I'm glad dad's sellswords are better than my friends. They also have a pegasus knight, and she's really bad. She nearly died since she couldn't hit another spear user... The first group is the hardest since they have a lot of range. Three of their guys can throw their axe at you, and it hits way too hard and from afar, meaning no counterattack or safe, indirect fire. Slowly march forward to meet up with your meres at the forts. They (two or three of them, at least) will be fine; trust me. When you get near them, Roy can speak to one of them to make first contact. They will have also taken out most of the castle's forces, so making your way up is a breeze. But the boss, though...

No one can hit him. Fortunately, he can't hit us. It's just a lot of swings and misses from both sides, which is annoying since there's one way to directly attack him. He can strike from range, but even our terrible pegasus knight, merc, and friend, Lance, can't do damage. We'll need to rely on our axes. I learned a way to get two hits per round in. Have one guy attack, then have Bors "save" them. This'll open a slot to let the other in. It can go longer than two, but I kept getting confused, and I didn't trust my men to hit. Why is his evasion so high? ...I just remember you get an Armorslayer Sword from one of the houses...

After forever passes, we'll enter the keep. The woman Elan was talking about is the Princess of Bern, Guenevere. We're shocked because she's, technically, an enemy, but she wants our aid. She may know of a way to end this war without more bloodshed despite her brother being the one who started it. All she needs is to speak to the Lycian Council, the group of rulers who runs our strange country. But we'll see how we get there...

..tomorrow!

I only save scummed once today. I didn't want Lance to die because of boss is the fattest evasion tank in games. Seriously, so stupid. I don't know what to make of the game yet, and I'm afraid of the 523 names I'm not even gonna try to remember. I also despite inventory management. And since we're always in combat, how am I gonna keep track of everything? I'm gonna end this playthrough early, aren't I?