How were you first introduced to Fire Emblem as a franchise? What was your first game?

[hebilea]

Hello!

I would love to know how you were first introduced to the Fire Emblem franchise, what was your first FE game, etcetc!

My first introduction was actually Super Smash Bros Melee when I was like 11 years old, where Marth and Roy were playable characters (I became a Roy main and my friend hated playing against me haha).

When I saw those two, I wanted to play a Fire Emblem game myself really badly. Sadly, those were next to impossible to get, as I come from a small country of Europe where Nintendo consoles and games were very rare sadly.

However, when I went on a vacation with my parents, there was a toy shop at the airport where they were selling a legit copy of Fire Emblem: Sacred Stones.

I was absolutely shocked and my parents bought it for me as present for later (don't remember if it was Birthday or Christmas). That's when I was introduced to Eirika and Ephraim, my first two protagonists of the many FE games. I grew to love the franchise and got more games as the time went on. I got my hands on Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade (with Lyndis, Eliwood and Hector), Shadow Dragon (finally a game where I could play Marth), Heroes and lastly Three Houses.

Would love to hear your stories as well!

 

[toenuki]

if i remember right it was social media. awakening was my first game, but ive never been able to commit even after buying fates and 3h and so i have no games now

Post automatically merged: Apr 25, 2020

if i remember right it was social media. awakening was my first game, but ive never been able to commit even after buying fates and 3h and so i have no games now

i also had the app but since deleted that too

 

[Midoriya]

I started with Awakening due to some old (now ex) friends of mine, then played Fates, Echoes, and now Three Houses. I also technically played Super Smash Bros. Melee as well, but have never really had a Fire Emblem character as my main. I still remember the fact that when I wanted to get Awakening, it was sold out everywhere, so literally the only way I was able to play it was by buying the Fire Emblem Awakening special edition 3DS. Don’t have the console anymore nor the game data, but Fire Emblem in general has provided many hours of fun for my friends and myself.

 

[GalacticGhost]

I was first introduced to the series through playing Super Smash Bros. Melee when I was a little kid. I didn't main Marth or Roy, mainly because I was very young at the time and as a result I preferred to play as cute characters like Peach and Pichu, instead of two guys with swords I didn't know anything about.

It wasn't until around when Super Smash Bros. for Wii U/3DS came out that I started to gain more interest in the Nintendo games represented in it that I hadn't played/hadn't played much of. Before then I was only really into Mario, Animal Crossing and maybe Zelda, but when that game came out I started to become more curious about other Nintendo franchises such as Earthbound/Mother, Pokemon, Kirby and Fire Emblem. That, and the fact that a new, or rather two new Fire Emblem games came out about a year or two later was what convinced me to pick up Fates about four years ago.

I... still havent completed it lol. One of the early chapters was super frustrating for me because someone always kept dying, and in an attempt to make sure something like that would never happen again I levelled up my characters a lot... only to find that battles were now too easy and boring. I also played Heroes for a bit after it came out but I eventually stopped, though I can't remember why.

When it wasn't frustratingly difficult or boringly easy, however, I found that it was fun to play. I've considered getting Three Houses, but other Switch games I wanted more have been stopping me. *cough*New Horizons*cough*

 

[hebilea]

I was first introduced to the series through playing Super Smash Bros. Melee when I was a little kid. I didn't main Marth or Roy, mainly because I was very young at the time and as a result I preferred to play as cute characters like Peach and Pichu, instead of two guys with swords I didn't know anything about.

It wasn't until around when Super Smash Bros. for Wii U/3DS came out that I started to gain more interest in the Nintendo games represented in it that I hadn't played/hadn't played much of. Before then I was only really into Mario, Animal Crossing and maybe Zelda, but when that game came out I started to become more curious about other Nintendo franchises such as Earthbound/Mother, Pokemon, Kirby and Fire Emblem. That, and the fact that a new, or rather two new Fire Emblem games came out about a year or two later was what convinced me to pick up Fates about four years ago.

I... still havent completed it lol. One of the early chapters was super frustrating for me because someone always kept dying, and in an attempt to make sure something like that would never happen again I levelled up my characters a lot... only to find that battles were now too easy and boring. I also played Heroes for a bit after it came out but I eventually stopped, though I can't remember why.

When it wasn't frustratingly difficult or boringly easy, however, I found that it was fun to play. I've considered getting Three Houses, but other Switch games I wanted more have been stopping me. *cough*New Horizons*cough*

If you can pick up Thee Houses, I really recommend it! I played it before ACNH came out, didn't finish it yet, but I am close to finishing! I was able to get it for like 33% off at the Nintendo eShop.

3 Houses has arguably the most memorable characters out of any other FE game I played and it's really just largely popular, for a pretty good reason!

Post automatically merged: Apr 26, 2020

I started with Awakening due to some old (now ex) friends of mine, then played Fates, Echoes, and now Three Houses. I also technically played Super Smash Bros. Melee as well, but have never really had a Fire Emblem character as my main. I still remember the fact that when I wanted to get Awakening, it was sold out everywhere, so literally the only way I was able to play it was by buying the Fire Emblem Awakening special edition 3DS. Don’t have the console anymore nor the game data, but Fire Emblem in general has provided many hours of fun for my friends and myself.

I was lucky to get Awakening from a friend who just gifted it to me, because he finished it. Though I came far in the game and story, I still didn't finish it. For some reason, the side characters didn't feel as fleshed out to me (not talking about the main characters), and I know people will disagree with me completely.

 

[Romaki]

I picked up Fire Emblem: Three Houses because everyone hyped it up (and I do like turn-based combat), and the game definitely didn't disappoint! The game is a little bit too heavy on the plot and cutscenes for my liking, but I just enjoy the gameplay element even without it.

So I'm not too invested in Fire Emblem, but Three Houses is very enjoyable and has good writing so far. I'm very invested in some of the characters, but I just feel overwhelmed with all of the story to be honest. It's good, but it's a lot to take in when you just want to play a game imo.

 

[Mimi_]

My first game was Awakening, and I have 500+ hours on it because I set a personal goal of getting every support conversation! I only have a few more to go, the most difficult ones are Avatar x Late-game characters cause you have to play through a majority of the game lol
I can’t remember how I decided to get it, I think just random Amazon recommendation. But now I have played every game since, including Heroes, and even cosplayed a few characters! I’m trying to find time to play a few of the older games too! My Three Houses playthrough is on hold though, thanks to New Horizons...

 

[hebilea]

I picked up Fire Emblem: Three Houses because everyone hyped it up (and I do like turn-based combat), and the game definitely didn't disappoint! The game is a little bit too heavy on the plot and cutscenes for my liking, but I just enjoy the gameplay element even without it.

So I'm not too invested in Fire Emblem, but Three Houses is very enjoyable and has good writing so far. I'm very invested in some of the characters, but I just feel overwhelmed with all of the story to be honest. It's good, but it's a lot to take in when you just want to play a game imo.

That's actually kinda why I like it, because the characters feel more fleshed out. Like in earlier FE games, you were limited to how much support you could have per character (which was annoying as hell), but here, there is no limit and you get to know the characters much better! Which house did you start with? I started with Blue Lions and absolutely no regret with characters like Mercedes, Sylvain and Felix.

Post automatically merged: Apr 26, 2020

My first game was Awakening, and I have 500+ hours on it because I set a personal goal of getting every support conversation! I only have a few more to go, the most difficult ones are Avatar x Late-game characters cause you have to play through a majority of the game lol
I can’t remember how I decided to get it, I think just random Amazon recommendation. But now I have played every game since, including Heroes, and even cosplayed a few characters! I’m trying to find time to play a few of the older games too! My Three Houses playthrough is on hold though, thanks to New Horizons...

Whoa, you have some incredible dedication to the game! Three Houses imo does a better job with the supports, because you don't have a limit to how many supports you get for one character.

 

[Romaki]

That's actually kinda why I like it, because the characters feel more fleshed out. Like in earlier FE games, you were limited to how much support you could have per character (which was annoying as hell), but here, there is no limit and you get to know the characters much better! Which house did you start with? I started with Blue Lions and absolutely no regret with characters like Mercedes, Sylvain and Felix.

I went with the Black Eagles for my first route, but they all seemed like a good choice. For me it was a toss up between them and Golden Deer. My fav is Dorothea, I absolutely love her design and I do have a soft spot for the one "common" character amongst tens of noteworthy ones.

 

[hebilea]

I went with the Black Eagles for my first route, but they all seemed like a good choice. For me it was a toss up between them and Golden Deer. My fav is Dorothea, I absolutely love her design and I do have a soft spot for the one "common" character amongst tens of noteworthy ones.

I LOVE Dorothea, also one of my favs!! She joined my Blue Lions pretty easily despite being female (though let's face it, Dorothea can marry multiple females too, so no wonder she joined) and her supports are one of my favorites to go through!

 

[Corrie]

Introduced through Melee also! My first game was Awakening! I actually haven't played much of it due to other games taking importance but I should get back into it!

 

[Seastar]

Super Smash Bros. Brawl was were I first heard of Fire Emblem. Sometime after Super Smash Bros. 3DS/Wii U came out, my brother got Awakening as his first Fire Emblem game. However, it wasn't until a few months ago that I started playing myself. I've been playing Fates Birthright first but I haven't finished it yet.

 

[Halloqueen]

Like a lot of people, my first exposure to the series came from Marth and Roy being playable characters in Super Smash Bros. Melee back in 2001. I thought they were fun to play, but didn't really search the series out. I'm pretty sure that I saw ads for the Game Boy Advance games in Nintendo Power, but again, never got around to it.

Eventually, a content creator whose videos I watched started doing livestreams on Saturday nights. This was about 2012. They would play video games, do old Choose Your Own Adventure books with the chat, and other fun stuff. One of the games they played was Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance. I was interested immediately, because seeing the gameplay of Fire Emblem reminded me of the Sega Genesis game Shining Force which I had good memories of from my childhood, since Shining Force and Fire Emblem are both turn-based tactics JRPG games. I was further drawn in by the plot and characters. I loved the game, and was very happy to learn that there was a direct sequel to Path of Radiance called Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, which the person also played on their stream.

I decided to get my own copies of Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance and Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, fortunately before their prices increased dramatically to what they are today, and have been hooked ever since. They remain my favorites of the series, and I encourage everyone to give them a try if you can acquire them somehow. Path of Radiance has my favorite plot and setting in the series and, while there are some one note characters like in any of the games, they have some of my favorite characters in the series as well.

I thereafter branched out to the other older games. The Blazing Blade, The Sacred Stones, Shadow Dragon, New Mystery of the Emblem: Heroes of Light and Shadow, Genealogy of the Holy War. Haven't yet played Thracia 776 and The Binding Blade, but have watched others play them.

Had a bit of a falling out with the series after playing Awakening because the characters and their support conversations felt bland and the plot felt sloppy and too generic anime compared to previous games. Skipped all three Fates games because everything I heard about them, other than Conquest having great gameplay, seemed like all my complaints about Awakening turned up to 11, and because I care about having worthwhile stories in games it didn't seem like anything I'd enjoy. Didn't buy Warriors because it felt like pandering, with a few characters from Marth's games and featuring a bunch of Awakening and Fates characters when there were tons of other characters from the rest of the series to choose from. It should also come as no surprise, considering earlier statements, that I didn't bother with and loathe what became Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE, which feels like awful representation for both Fire Emblem and Shin Megami Tensei (which it shouldn't have been advertised as, falling more along the Persona side of SMT). I also haven't played Fire Emblem Heroes since I don't have a device to play it on and don't really like the idea of getting sucked into a gatcha game, but I appreciate the character art.

Was relieved with Echoes: Shadows of Valentia because it felt like a return to what I enjoyed about the series. The plot was more or less enjoyable, the characters were fun, and the presentation was great; being fully voice acted and featuring a number of cutscenes. The gameplay left a bit to be desired because Fire Emblem remakes tend to be a bit too faithful, so the maps were a bit boring.

I was still hesitant about embracing the series again because Echoes' good points could just have been a fluke, being a remake of an older game with an already mostly established story (with a few additions), but, despite some reservations about the concept of Three Houses, I gave it a shot. I enjoy it a lot. I have a few issues with certain aspects, but nothing's perfect, so yeah.

 

[shayminskyforme88]

Got to try the Fire Emblem Awakening Demo on the 3DS since I heard it’s one of the best demos you can play. Thought it was a good game, but never really got around to buying it. I really got into it when Heroes came out. After really getting into it, I bought all 3DS entries except Echoes since I usually try to look for used copies at reasonable prices. Though only finished Birthright so far since I was kinda busy for some time and got stuck in the final chapter for Conquest due to the difficulty spike and the inability to grind levels.

 

[skylucario]

introduced by ssb brawl & got awakening first.

 

[Piroshi]

I was also introduced to the series from Melee and was always somewhat interested, but my first and only Fire Emblem game was Three Houses.

 

[chainosaur]

Like many folks in the west I was introduced to the series through Melee, and I just had to get my hands on any Fire Emblem title. Luckily I didn't have to wait long to obtain Fire Emblem: Blazing Blade for the GBA, and the rest is more or less history. Since then I got the games as they came out, and I went back and emulated whatever else I couldn't easily obtain.

I've got just about every title under my belt now, having finally gone through the Jugdral titles last year and read the Genealogy manga on top of that. I'm such a huge fan of the franchise and I feel like every game has something to offer.

 

[Mr_Persona]

I just wanted to play the games so I did. I don't remember which FE game was my first, I think it was FE Awakwening and another FE game on DSi that same year.

 

[yehves]

Mine is kind of cringy... I was I think 6 or 7 when I was introduced to SSBB and I thought Ike was cute looking so I looked into the franchise. I didn't really start playing until FE:A came out because my parents thought the game was too hard for my age and I agree. But ever since I played Awakening, I've been a fan of the series and I try to play every game! My favourite game is probably Echoes though, I hope that they remake the other older games!

 

[Meowria]

Oh boy. Fire emblem. One of my fave series and one I have an interesting history with.

I was introduced when I played Super Smash Bro’s melee. I really liked Roy the most as a character and wanted to play the game he was from.

I asked for fire emblem for a holiday(idk if it was Christmas or my birthday) and got shadow dragon for ds along with the guide. I was disappointed that it was March(I didn’t know Roy game was never released here at the time) but happy it was in the series. I played the first prologue chapter but stopped after reading “characters permanently die”

Later on I got Sacred Stones from 3ds ambassador program and played one chapter but quit because I remembered permadeath was a thing and wasn’t a fan of that.

It wasn’t until a few years after Awakenings release with dates being announced a little after that that I finally got into the series for real with Awakening. I have since played and beaten every game and I’m so glad I did. Really great stuff this series offers. Especially with the older games. My faves are the Tellius games but three houses, garden/echoes, and genealogy are all really great and worth a try.