Hey I forgot to post in here for a long time again. Oops.
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn - Finished!
Overall? This is a pretty awesome game. I know, I know, I'm calling a Fire Emblem game awesome, but seriously, it's like hundreds of times better than those GBA crap games.
Battles still have permadeath, but this is saved by there being an in-battle quicksave. So if you lose a character due to dumb luck, you lose only a few turns of time rather than 2 hours. This helps immensely. The game is still hard enough that you can save yourself into a situation where you'll lose a character no matter what you do, so it's not like you can save after every action. Once a turn worked fine for me, though at one point I found myself in a difficult position even then. Really, the game is balanced for in-battle saves.
Also, the fact that the game is challenging without being outright retarded is a bonus.
Bonus EXP is awesome as usual, though the "forced 3 stats" makes it a bit of a double-edged sword. Bad for early levels, good for later ones, though it's always decent for quickly levelling up weaker people (such as the time I threw a bunch on Mist so she could promote at 20). Adding skill removal is one of the best things the game did. Allows for actual customization of skills which FE9 was quite limited in. Especially at endgame when you can just steal the skills from people you're not using. Allows for a hell of a lot of twinking and was quite fun. Also, making initial skills not cost CP helped make this customization not make characters clone copies of one another skill-wise. Good idea, that. Making masteries auto-learned and useful was also a huge jump from FE9. AETHER!! nerf was sad though.
Forging system was better, too. No more 1/map limit, and they seemed to cost less in general. Generally made forged weapons more useful.
Adding height mechanics to the battle system was kind of neat, but ultimately didn't matter too often. Though if it did it'd probably be annoying, so this is probably a good thing.
Plot stuff! SPOILERS FOR FIRE EMBLEM PLOT I guess.
Part 1 plot was neat. Kind of a reversal from FE9, and does a good job of introducing up the setting.
Part 2 plot, eh. There wasn't a whole lot there beyond CIVIL WAR LOL. Also kind of pointless beyond showing how much of a badass Elincia is. Not that this is a bad thing, of course.
Part 3 plot starts off decent enough. Typical "senators go against monarch's wishes, stir shit up, hero must fix" stuff, but it works for what it is. However, it goes downhill from there. Blood pact shit is just retarded. Signing a piece of paper can make your whole country die? Yeah, not buying that shit for a minute. Basically a lame excuse to make Daein fight for the senators. However, the end result of the pact isn't all bad. The whole "friends forced to fight against friends for some reason" is cliche, but it works, and it fits in perfectly with the later plot overall. It's just the blood pact shit that annoys the hell out of me.
Part 4 plot? I quite liked it, but that's probably because Yune is one of the most awesome characters ever. (You thought I was kidding when I said Yune was the best character in the game when I first started playing? So did I. But I wasn't, apparently.) Anyways, the whole idea of order and chaos needing to coexist has always been interesting to me, so I liked this stuff. Dark god being good, etc. was pretty cliche, but it worked, especially with Dheggy's explanation later on (which also fit in well). The biggest problem with the plot is... why does YOUR ENTIRE PC CAST get saved from being stoned, while uh just about everyone else except Amy doesn't? People later saved by Ashera are ignored here for obvious reasons. Do they ever explain this? I don't remember it. Yune mentions something about the non-stoned people being people who treated beorc and laguz as equals, but I'd think there are others besides the PC cast that do as well (and why Amy??). Dunno, doesn't sound too believable.
Ending? Meh, was all right. Ike's little speech to Yune was decent, but not as good as FE9's ending speech, I think. Ending screen that does nothing but praise Ike annoys the hell out of me though. Yeah yeah, Ike is the best person ever, we get it. The overemphasis of this kind of makes me dislike Ike a bit.
So yeah, overall? Pretty good by RPG standards (not that these are high or anything) which is exceptional for FIRE EMBLEM PLOT.
Characters!
Micaiah: Battle: Actually decent, though pretty weak for a lord. Thani rules, but that's about the only niche she has beyond being another healer. Light magic isn't exactly uber and doesn't hit any weaknesses (it really needed to). Evasion is passable due to insane Luck growth and decent speed, resistance is awesome due to being a mage, but the physical durability fails. Coming with A support with Sothe helps all around though.
DL: Yeah, she gets Nosferatu for me, so she can use that and Thani. Decent middle?
Plot: I like Micaiah, I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because she's charismatic and doesn't take shit from anybody. And also Izuka owning. Izuka owning = massive bonus points. Seriously. Izuka fucking sucks.
Edward: Battle: Servicable enough, but not great. Wrath can be pretty hax, and having a decent evasion stat makes it work.
DL: Eh, unique sword helps some, but I still don't think he ends up that great. Middle?
Plot: What plot?
Leonardo: Battle: Servicable archer for the Dawn Brigade. Pretty scrubby compared to the others though. And Cancel? Seriously? Owns mages I guess.
DL: He really really likes that bow. Probably a Light/Middle? I'd have to check some things.
Plot: What plot?
Nolan: Battle: Kicks ass... in the Dawn Brigade. Actually probably solid otherwise, too. Comes with Nihil so that's a plus.
DL: Basically just hits things. I dunno, Light/Middle again? I recall him having good evasion but in-game != DL, etc.
Plot: What plot?
Laura: Battle: Servicable healer for the Dawn Brigade. Would be freaking awesome if her speed cap didn't fail at life. Regardless, she eats mages for breakfast, which is a bonus.
DL: Uh, Light. That damage isn't going to go too far and the speed is hurt by the cap. Though the regen from staves can't hurt.
Plot: Why did she actually join? I mean, I know why she temporarily joined but why did she stick around? Whatever.
Sothe: Battle: Jeigan! Who doesn't completely fail at endgame! Overall, quite useful, though not really someone I'd focus on training. Stealing/chest unlocking does have benefits though.
DL: Uh, beats things with weak damage and dodges or something. Hits weakness against beast types!!1 Probably a Light? Bane makes him a solid one at least.
Plot: Meh. I guess interaction with Micaiah worked well enough.
Ilyana: Battle: Jeigan! Kinda! More like she just comes overlevelled. She's pretty good for Dawn Brigade chapters, but falls off towards endgame, unfortunately. Shade is neat and keeps her from being attacked too often.
DL: Owns Fou-Lu! Obviously Godlike! Seriously though? Probably a Light, sadly. ;_;
Plot: Eats stuff. Seriously though? I like Ilyana. She's amusing. Her complaining about the prison food being bad and taking her anger out on the guards was one of the best scenes in the game.
Aran: Battle: Eh, supposedly he's good, but I found him one of the weaker people in the Dawn Brigade. Kind of tanky but not enough to make it worth it.
DL: Typical tanky Middle I think. Impale should let him get that far at least?
Plot: What plot?
Meg: Battle: Fucking failure. That is all.
DL: I don't know her DL stats, but probably a Light. Though the mastery should make her a decent one. Damnit.
Plot: Fails.
Volug: Battle: Laguz Jeigan! Is good at what he does at the time, but didn't seem worth using at endgame.
DL: Probably a Light. Halfshift allows him to transform turn 1 at lowered stats, but that doesn't help a whole lot. Especially since above average speed gets a free shot at him untransformed.
Plot: Meh.
Jill: Battle: Definitely one of the better units in the DB. Dracoknights rule in general.
DL: Middle? Tanky+hits hard+decent speed? Stun's a nice threat but doesn't come up. This changes if she came with a Brave Axe (I can't remember if she did).
Plot: Meh.
Tauroneo: Battle: Jeigan! Same as Volug really.
DL: Middle? Resolve is pretty hax and he's pretty tanky.
Plot: What plot?
Zihark: Battle: Jeigan! Actually not as good of a Jeigan!
DL: Light? Unless he ends up better than I think.
Plot: What plot?
Fiona: Battle: Someone said she's good if you can get her to promote. A) That's hard as hell and B) she's not even good after promoting. Her only use is Savior, really. Though this does have its niche.
DL: Light/Middle? That regen probably helps her be borderline maybe? Might let her see a Sol in some cases?
Plot: Pretty cliche, but one I like.
Tormod: Battle: Probably would be decent but is NEVER AROUND.
DL: Light. Mages got kind of screwed in the DL.
Plot: Meh.
Muarim: Battle: Good for the map he joins on the first time, decentish the second. Not too useful otherwise.
DL: Light? I allow initial consumable items, so I think he can transform turn 1, but still, above average speed gets a free shot on Laguz untransformed defense stats. And those fail.
Plot: What plot?
Vika: Battle: Same as Maurim except sucks on the second.
DL: Light. I think she only had Olivi Grass so opponents probably just kill her first.
Plot: What plot?
Naliah: Battle: I think I founder to be the weakest of the four royals... but she still freaking kicks ass. Or bites ass. Actually that sounds kind of wrong.
DL: Godlike? I don't know Savage's rate offhand, but seems like she has a good chance of seeing it since royal stats kick ass. Again, above average speed gets a free shot, but royal untransformed stats aren't TOO bad, IIRC.
Plot: Meh.
Rafiel: Battle: Lets everyone around him act again? Yes please. Needs a better move stat and Canto, but whatever.
DL: Puny. For obvious reasons.
Plot: Meh. He's a bit of a wuss. And by "bit" I mean "lot". Though it fits.
Black Knight: Battle: Is stupid powerful in part 1, sucks in the other map he joins on (crappy move haha).
DL: Uh... Godlike? I think Eclipse had a good rate, and he should still be really tanky even scaled to his last appearance. Oh right, Imbue. Yeah. Boss form is probably overall worse.
Plot: I liked Black Knight's plot for the most part. It's cliche, I know, but it worked. Also his frue form is a badass, which helps.
Elincia: Battle: Is silly wrong in part 2, and solid otherwise. She doubled about everything, rarely got hit, and ate mages for breakfast. Physical durability isn't too great (lol hp) but not terrible. Also, Dragonfoe Elincia >>>> E-3. It's been said.
DL: High Heavy. Stun off of doubleacting is pretty hax.
Plot: Elincia's a badass. I said it before, but I'll say it again. She doesn't take shit from anyone. Scene in part 3 where she tries to stop the Laguz Alliance and Daein from fighting was pretty awesome, too.
Marcia: Battle: Good peg knight, but I found the others to be better. HOWEVER, Marcia is around more often and doesn't have to compete with as many people for deployment slots, which helps.
DL: Middle/Heavy. Stun off of peg knight stats.
Plot: Marcia's always been awesome, but she doesn't have as many scenes. "I'll sell him to you. Cheap" is one of the best lines in the game though. She still rules.
Leanne: Battle: Only affects two people, but canto makes her more usable than Rafiel. Also, GODLIKE RES AND LUCK.
DL: Puny. For obvious reasons.
Plot: I love Leanne. She's funny. Lategame info scene (spoilers kinda but not really?):
Leanne: Micaiah, have you ever seen one of these?
Micaiah: Yes, Leanne, I have. That's a very powerful artifact. Actually, it would be of great help to us, with what's been happening.
Leanne: I found it inside the tower. Do you think I can use it?
Micaiah: Um... I don't think so, Leanne. But you can try if you like...
Leanne: ...I'm only kidding. Here, you can have it.
Micaiah: Oh, for me? Thank you very much. It's a very precious item. I'll make good use of it.
Leanne: Please do!
She's talking about a Guard scroll... (It's not like Micaiah makes a good Guard user either...)
I find this hilarious. And she has other good lines too!
PS: She's pretty.
Neuluchi: Battle: Good for that map he's forced on. Probably decent otherwise but never bothered.
DL: Light. Wrath is pretty neat but I don't know if that's enough to swing Middle, especially with typical Laguz woes.
Plot: Meh. No opinion either way.
Haar: Battle: Owns stuff. In the face. With axes. He actually made my endgame team, so yeah.
DL: Middle/Heavy? Same as Jill pretty much.
Plot: I like Haar. He's lazy.
Brom: Battle: Uh, tanks? Disarm is cool since it lets me steal stuff!
DL: Middle. Disarm is more useful in the DL, but the rate's not too great. Eats it to mages regardless.
Plot: Meh.
Nephenee: Battle: Nephenee rules just as much as she did in FE9, really. Wrath may have been nerfed, but it's still a nice trump card, even if Nephenee rarely needs it. I gave her Vantage just for kicks and Adept, which turned out pretty well.
DL: Middle/Heavy: Fast, Tanky, and Impale has a good rate. Not sure if that's as good in practice as it sounds.
Plot: Meh.
Heather: Battle: Thief! Better than Sothe, I found. Less Jeigan uses but better otherwise.
DL: Light. Same as Sothe really.
Plot: Is a lesbian. Actually, she had a nice scene with Ilyana at least. This makes most people better.
Lucia: Battle: Another Jeigan, really. Though she's not too bad at endgame.
DL: Light/Middle probably? Would have to check DL stats.
Plot: Lucia's pretty cool.
Mordecai: Battle: Good on 2-E. Didn't seem too useful otherwise.
DL: Light. Typical Laguz tank thing.
Plot: What plot?
Lethe: Battle: Fails.
DL: Light. Typical Laguz thing.
Plot: What plot?
Geoffrey: Battle: Is pretty awesome, actually. Overlevelled + Paragon + Brave Lance + good stats.
DL: Heavy. Brave Lance should get him up there I think?
Plot: Geoffrey's all right, though I'm not sure why.
Kieran: Battle: Solid. Certainly one of the better people in Geoffrey's crew.
DL: Middle/Heavy? Did he get a Brave Axe?
Plot: What plot? Oh yeah, Axe scene.
Astrid: Battle: NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERF.
DL: Light/Middle. At least she has Sol.
Plot: Makalov fangirl. This is not a good thing. I need to hit an FE10 developer or something.
Makalov: Battle: Eh, he's kind of scrubby but usable.
DL: Light/Middle. Sol.
Plot: Is a gambler. Still.
Danved: Battle: Decent I guess?
DL: Middle. Impale.
Plot: Is not Devdan.
Calill: Battle: Decent. Access to all three elemental magics helps.
DL: Light. Mage.
Plot: Meh.
Ike: Battle: AETHER!! With good stats. And a kickass weapon. Seriously though, Ike is pretty nuts.
DL: Middle/Heavy. Aether got nerfed.
Plot: Like I said earlier, too much emphasis on IKE IS THE BEST GUY EVAR LOL. Just gets annoying. Ike himself is alright but I didn't even get all the Ike character hype back in FE9 so yeah.
Titania: Battle: Titiania rules. Best paladin I think?
DL: Middle. Sadly doesn't seem as awesome in the DL. Uh, COUNTER HYPE?
Plot: What plot?
Soren: Battle: Seemed kind of scrubby, really.
DL: Light/Middle. REXCALIBUR and Adept hype or something? I dunno.
Plot: Strategist. He's alright now I guess.
Mist: Battle: ALONDITE WIELDING GODDESS OF DEATH. Seriously, once Mist promotes, she is badass. Also owns mages like nothing else.
DL: Middle. Mage slaying at the very least, and Miracle might have some use maybe.
Plot: Mist has less cool lines this time around. Sad.
Rolf: Battle: Archer but not very useful due to Shinon being better.
DL: Light/Middle.
Plot: Meh.
Boyd: Battle: Hits things in the face with axes. Actually pretty good! More damage and less evasion compared to Nolan, IIRC.
DL: Light/Middle or something.
Plot: What plot?
Oscar: Battle: Nerf! Seems just worse than Titania.
DL: Light/Middle.
Plot: What plot?
Shinon: Battle: Archer of death.
DL: Middle? Maybe not even.
Plot: MASTER OF EVERYTHING yeah what.
Gatrie: Battle: TANK.
DL: Middle? Tank + Mastery or something. Eats it to mages.
Plot: What plot?
Rhys: Battle: Typical healer + light magic user. More useless due to Mist existing.
DL: Light. Same as Laura really.
Plot: What plot?
Mia: Battle: Mia is INSANE. She never gets hit, ever. Doubles everything. And has good damage. Definitely one of the best characters in the game.
DL: Middle/Heavy. Sadly
Plot: What plot?
Ranulf: Battle: Eh, he's alright I guess.
DL: Middle? Laguz with a Stone.
Plot: Ranulf's pretty cool, I guess. At least he uses his head.
Kyza: Battle: Never used him.
DL: Light? Seems typical Laguz.
Plot: Meh.
Lyre: Battle: Worthless.
DL: Light. Typical Laguz. Without stats. Great combo there.
Plot: I don't remember Lyre plot.
Reyson: Battle: Canto Heron. Also hits all adjacent units while transformed. That's pretty awesome.
DL: Puny. For obvious reasons.
Plot: Kind of the opposite of Rafiel. Guess it works.
Janaff: Battle: Seemed decent enough, but I'm not a fan of laguz in general.
DL: Light? Think he only had Grass.
Plot: What plot?
Ulki: Battle: Same as Janaff.
DL: Light? Same as Janaff.
Plot: What plot?
Sigrun: Battle: Sigrun is awesome in battle. I don't know what people were talking about when they said otherwise. Great evasion and speed, decent damage, and Stun.
DL: Middle/Heavy. Stun off of peg knight stats.
Plot: I've always liked Sigrun. She doesn't do a whole lot in either game, but when she does, it's generally good stuff. Especially interactions with Sanaki in FE10's case.
Plus, she's pretty.
Tanith: Battle: Seemed a little worse than Sigrun to me? They pretty comparable and I'll just chalk that up to RNG liking Sigrun more/her being higher levelled.
DL: Middle/Heavy. Stun. Peg knight. Etc.
Plot: Tanith's cool as well, but less so than Sigrun. And not as pretty.
Skirmir: Battle: Solid as an NPC. Probably decent otherwise but I didn't use him.
DL: Middle. Laguz + Stone + better stats.
Plot: Skirmir fails at first, but shapes up. Works.
Tibarn: Battle: Laguz royal, and probably the best. Pretty much just destroys stuff.
DL: Godlike. Tear is pretty nasty, and he has Pavise. Above average speed gets a shot in untransformed, but Pavise helps a bit there. And royal stats.
Plot: Tibarn's pretty badass. Probably my favorite royal character-wise.
Naesala: Battle: Pretty much Tibarn with more speed and less tank. Probably third best royal?
DL: Godlike. Doubles everything ever, good evasion, and Tear. Sadly has no defense against fast people going first.
Plot: Naesala... well, I like Naesala as a character I guess, but the plots surrounding him tend to fail at life.
Sanaki: Battle: Sanaki rules... iff you give her stat boosters. Seriously, she starts out with terrible strength and not so great speed, but giving her boosters in those stats make her really good. Still fails at taking hits, but she has a passable evade stat to help out there. Giving her Shade's probably a good idea (I gave her Resolve instead though, which also works if she doesn't get 2HKOd). Basically, the definition of magical glass canon.
DL: Middle. +10 Def item + I allow leadership + unique tome should let her swing Middle. Not a great one though.
Plot: Sanaki's archetype is cliche as hell, but one I've always been fond of. And Sanaki pulls it off pretty well. Angst toward the end was annoying but she recovered.
Stefan: Battle: He's decent. Joins too late and has nothing special though.
DL: Heavy? Vague Katti is pretty nice, and I think he has decent stats.
Plot: Meh.
Oliver: Battle: Kind of fails.
DL: Light/Middle. Nosferatu but I think he's doubled.
Plot: Never been a fan of Oliver. Interactions involving him are fun, Oliver himself not so much.
Bastian: Battle: Decentish. Having staves is a bonus.
DL: Light? Seems like a typical mage in the DL anyways.
Plot: Bastian is a smooth-talker. That's about all there is to him.
Volke: Battle: Another thief. Though arguably better than both the others.
DL: Middle. Has actual ID, which helps.
Plot: I like Volke, he's a sneaky bastard. And I mean bastard.
Caineghis: Battle: TANK. WITH DAMAGE. Yeah, second best royal I think? Has an argument for first but I think Canto tips the edge to Tibarn.
DL: Godlike. Unlike the other royals, Caineghis's defense pre-transformation is actually solid, and absolutely nuts afterwards.
Plot: Meh.
Gifica: Battle: Didn't use him, but seemed like a slightly worse Caineghis. Not that this is bad.
DL: Middle/Heavy. He has a Gem, but no mastery (I think?). Clearly Heavy if so (and maybe even Godlike).
Plot: What plot?
Kurthnaga: Battle: Starts out kind of scrubby, becomes badass. Also, Night Tide.
DL: Middle/Heavy. No Mastery and skills hurts, but he's got stats and Formshift at least.
Plot: Meh. Didn't care about him one way or another, really.
Ena: Battle: Blood Tide.
DL: Light. Tanky but that damage fails. Wishes Imbue was initial.
Plot: Same as Kurthnaga really.
Renning: Battle: Looked like a typical paladin?
DL: Middle/Heavy. Same as other paladins I guess.
Plot: Meh.
Nasir: Battle: White Pool.
DL: Middle? Has a Gem, and the damage is solid, but the speed fails and he's not all that durable. May not even be a Middle.
Plot: Nasir's... okay, I guess.
Gareth: Battle: Looked like Ena with more damage and durability?
DL: Middle? Gem.
Plot: What plot?
Bosses!
Black Knight: Battle: Eats Hammer.
DL: Uh... I dunno, Heavy/Godlike? Don't have much respect for the HP, but defense is solid and Imbue exists. Damage isn't too great unless Eclipse kicks in, which should have a decent chance.
Dheggy: Battle: That is a killer boss fight for an FE game. I basically just had Kurth solo it while Sanaki hurled giant rocks.
DL: Godlike, I guess? FE boss HP is made of fail, but that defense is pretty cracked out, and he has a 2HKO + solid chance of overkill. Not a great Godlike to me, but I suppose he belongs there.
E-4 boss: Battle: Gimmick fight. Pretty annoying but easy.
DL: Durability of FAIL. Probably a Light/Middle. Though I do allow the summoning trick, but I don't think that helps a whole lot.
Final: Battle: Gimmick fight of annoyance. Not actually diffficult though.
DL: Less durability than Dheggy + less damage + no overkill? Uh yeah. Probably a Light/Middle?
Probably an 8-9/10 game overall. Will have to see what else is in those areas first.
