Fire Emblem Permadeath

[pokedude729]

So, I just started a Rom of Fire Emblem for GBA, and I've already had a character die (I'm sorry, It's my first Fire Emblem Game). Luckily it was near the beginning so the chapter isn't that long, but what are you guys' opinion on the series staple of Permadeath? Do you just go on with the game, reset to sav them, or what? I reset the game (and will likely play in casual mode when I play awakening)

 

[Mairmalade]

I think having permadeath is the only way to play Fire Emblem. Even if it was a simple mistake on my part, I roll with it because it keeps the game interesting and realistic for me. I get really into my strategies and think about all my possible options to make sure I don't lose units I don't need to.

However, there have been a couple times where I've cheated on my mindset. I set one of my favorite units a square ahead of where I wanted to put them by accident and they got rekt. Needless to say I did restart... :c

 

[ThomasNLD]

I kinda agree with Mairmalade. I think it is a defining part of the Fire Emblem series, playing with permadeath turned off, wouldn`t be the same for me.

What I do if someone dies depends really on the character. Sometimes I sacrifice a character I don`t care about to save another even. Lately I try to keep them all alive, so it does exactly what Mairmalade says, it makes me really precise in the tactics I choose, to make sure they all survive. However, if a favoured character of mine dies, I do restart the game. I guess restarting chapters is also a defining point for the series for me. Its very unforgiving, but hey, its war.

 

[pokeude14]

I am personally against permadeath. When I played the original FE on GBA, It was just too much for me when a character died, as they don't come back. Luckily, with Casual Mode on Awakening, It helps ease my mind. That's not to say that I just Zerg Rush the opponent, I still try to strategize; but if a character falls, then the fight can still go on and the guy will rejoin the next battle.

 

[radical6]

i just restart if someone dies
usually doesnt happen tho coz im always very careful when playing

 

[Tao]

I like the perma death.

It makes me think properly about things before I make a move and when a character dies I actually end up giving a **** about their death since their loss genuinely makes a difference (especially if they were one of my MVP's). If perma death wasn't a thing, I would just zerg rush everything since the difficulty of the game comes from those perma deaths.

 

[shunishu]

reset reset reset and again till it works
it's tough

playing fe without permadeath is kinda pointless..

 

[JCnator]

The concept of permadeath is a nice novelty at first, especially when it's a franchise that's usually well-known for very endearing characters. However, I'm concerned about being unable to finish a Fire Emblem game should I lose too many units. And resetting is a big flow-breaker for me. I'm glad that Casual Mode exists on FE13 and 14, but at the same time I'd miss what made the franchise so special about it if I don't feel like resetting for the millionth time regardless of my skill level.

I certainly wouldn't mind having it on if it has some sort of dynamic difficulty adjustment depending on your party, rather than using Casual or Phoenix mode along with it. Maybe weakened enemy units and/or alternate story paths would do that for me.

 

[brutalitea]

I just restart the chapter if someone dies. If I ever play Awakening, definitely not playing Casual Mode. The risk of permadeath makes you think harder about your strategy, which I like.

 

[Tao]

I just restart the chapter if someone dies. If I ever play Awakening, definitely not playing Casual Mode. The risk of permadeath makes you think harder about your strategy, which I like.

I don't see how restarting whenever somebody dies is that different from casual mode.

 

[Libra]

I don't see how restarting whenever somebody dies is that different from casual mode.

Yeah, I agree. Awakening was the first Fire Emblem game I played and I did so on Casual, but I did my best to keep my characters alive and seriously went "ouch" each time one of them did die. ;-;

 

[Ashtot]

It's different because you have to actually start over and rethink your strategy. If you're playing FE on casual, you're just mindlessly grinding on enemies until the game is over.

I enjoy casual in Awakening when I want to set up a maxed street pass team, but if I actually want to play the game, casual makes no sense.

But I mean it isn't really a big deal because Awakening isn't challenging until Lunatic.

 

[Kirindrake]

I tend to play with permadeath, but I often reset when they die. I did however start a file with permadeath, letting units actually die when they died. I have nothing against permadeath, seems like an extra challenge for me.

 

[Tao]

It's different because you have to actually start over and rethink your strategy. If you're playing FE on casual, you're just mindlessly grinding on enemies until the game is over.

Yea but you're basically looking at what you did wrong last time, how enemy units reacted to your move and planning around that. If anything, it's the same as having a difficulty level in between casual and regular with the added 'mechanic' of seeing how the enemy would react to x move, or some 'Prince of Persia' mechanic where you just reverse back to a time you weren't screwed.

I'm not saying don't do it or anything, whatever makes you happy really. I just don't see how somebody can talk about casual mode as though it's for 'scrubs' or something but have no problem with resetting after a death. It's not that far from being the same thing.

 

[Ashtot]

Yea but you're basically looking at what you did wrong last time, how enemy units reacted to your move and planning around that. If anything, it's the same as having a difficulty level in between casual and regular with the added 'mechanic' of seeing how the enemy would react to x move, or some 'Prince of Persia' mechanic where you just reverse back to a time you weren't screwed.

I'm not saying don't do it or anything, whatever makes you happy really. I just don't see how somebody can talk about casual mode as though it's for 'scrubs' or something but have no problem with resetting after a death. It's not that far from being the same thing.

the point is that, like a lot of games, when you screw up, you have to try again. in casual mode that isnt the case.

you could make the same argument for pretty much any game, like mario for instance

instead of restarting the level, they could spawn you where you died, but that's not how the game works, for a good reason

its not that far from the same thing sure, but it is different.

another point is that before awakening, casual didn't exist the way it does in awakening, so people had to play like this, or continue with fewer units, which could possibly make the game harder (but normally didn't really depending on how you played)

i dont remember anyone saying that casual mode was for scrubs, and I don't think it's true, but it is less challenging than classic once you get to an actual difficulty.

 

[Libra]

To be honest; if it wasn't for Casual I'd never have bought and played Awakening. It was my first Fire Emblem game ever so I really like that that option was there (and well, it's optional, so not something anyone has to do). It made the game a little less stressful, because as a newbie my head totally exploded from all the info I found on-line (and I like to have some idea of what I'm doing (wrong), so of course I'll go looking for info). So the way I look at it is; an extra copy was sold and they had another happy customer (given that I'm planning on buying the three versions of Fates, yes; I'm a happy customer).

That being said; I do understand why people say the game isn't the same without Permadeath. I even agree with it somewhat. Just that I don't really understand the "resetting when a character dies" argument, because what's so different from Casual then? But I'm seeing some good points pro and con here, so this is definitely an interesting discussion.

I'm quite sure I'll choose Casual for Fates as well. Phoenix Mode, however, is something I'll pass on, though I don't have a problem with the option being there.

 

[Ashtot]

To be honest; if it wasn't for Casual I'd never have bought and played Awakening. It was my first Fire Emblem game ever so I really like that that option was there (and well, it's optional, so not something anyone has to do). It made the game a little less stressful, because as a newbie my head totally exploded from all the info I found on-line (and I like to have some idea of what I'm doing (wrong), so of course I'll go looking for info). So the way I look at it is; an extra copy was sold and they had another happy customer (given that I'm planning on buying the three versions of Fates, yes; I'm a happy customer).

That being said; I do understand why people say the game isn't the same without Permadeath. I even agree with it somewhat. Just that I don't really understand the "resetting when a character dies" argument, because what's so different from Casual then? But I'm seeing some good points pro and con here, so this is definitely an interesting discussion.

I'm quite sure I'll choose Casual for Fates as well. Phoenix Mode, however, is something I'll pass on, though I don't have a problem with the option being there.

idk if you read what i posted but essentially what i said is that thats the way games just are

you screw up, you start over

saying you dont understand the difference or why there is a difference is like saying that games in general should let you continue from where you made your mistake without any kind of consequence

 

[Bellsprout]

In this case, I'm pro permadeath.

One of the main points of the Fire Emblem series, in my opinion, is growing attached to your units as they become more powerful and, yes, interact with you and with other units (insert waifu joke here). It's this attachment to your characters that drives you to be the most proficient strategist you possibly can -- after all, not only are there lives on the line, but they're the lives of characters you've gotten to know and care about. This isn't Advance Wars where you can simply build another unit with the exact same function -- every character in Fire Emblem is unique in their own way and once they're gone, they're gone for good outside of very rare and specific circumstances.

In the case where you make a mistake, the consequences are two fold -- you've lost not only a unit that was a valuable asset to your army, but you may have lost an engaging or lovable character in the process. And yes, you can trivialize this point by simply restarting a chapter upon losing a valued unit, but even then it raises another question -- do I want to progress further in the game and leave this character behind, or do I want to go back and try my best to keep that character alive to see how they may develop later on?

It's a fascinating case study of game design when you really stop to think about it.

 

[KarlaKGB]

itt: casual gamers who need to be babysat thru games

 

[inkling]

sometimes i restart if somebody i really like dies, but I don't do it often. I usually just go with the flow unless its a really terrible/frustrating mistake. But I like the way the game is designed. I'm not sure it would really work any other way since you can only have so many characters at one time.