With Fire Emblem: Three Houses releasing later this year (hopefully Spring), I've been in a Fire Emblem mood lately. I decided to go and play some of the games I haven't touched/finished starting with Genealogy of the Holy War which was released exclusively in Japan for the Super Famicom back in 1996. It got a lovely new fan translation back in 2016 which updated the text to use the variable EarthBound font and updated the names of most of the characters to the localised ones used in Awakening and Heroes.
The other big thing that FE4 introduced was the relationship system. This is the earliest incarnation of the support system where characters could have dialogue with each other during battle. In FE4 however characters could fall in love and give each other stat bonuses as well as have children together. Characters will gain 'lover points' by standing next to each other and some will also gain a lot of 'lover points' for having a conversation with each other. Once a pair reach a certain amount of points, they will automatically pair up and have a child together if the woman survives until the end of chapter 5. Weapons and skills are passed down to the second gen so there can be a lot of planning to get the set up you want. It's a pretty cool system and the story explanation for the second gen is far better than how Awakening or Fates handle it. If characters aren't paired up by the end of chapter 5 you're given substitute characters for the second gen.
The biggest difference between FE4 and the rest of the series is its maps. These maps are MASSIVE and have multiple objectives and castles to capture. The size of these maps give a great sense of the scale of the war that's going on. Seizing a castle will usually trigger an event and start the next conflict as a bunch of units come out of the next castle to seize. To complete a map you have to seize all of the castles and you will lose if you lose a castle to the enemy. This forces you to make use of all of your units as you leave some behind to defend a castle as the enemy can come for you from different directions. It's a great idea and offers a more unique take on FE strategy with a lot of battles happening all over the map. The problem with it though is these maps can be a slog to play through. If your not on a horse or a pegasus it takes ages to traverse the map and if you're a General or a Knight you're going to be left behind to defend a castle. Luckily warp staves allow you to warp to any of your castles so that alleviates the burden of moving characters a little and you also have the ability to save at the start of your turn which is a great help. Another problem with the large maps is the amount of units they allow on the field. You are unrestricted in the number of units field so between you and the enemy a single turn can take a long time. With all of the maps being huge, there are no indoor maps or boat maps. I would've liked a couple of smaller skirmishes to change things up a little. Don't worry about having around 25 of these maps to play though - there's only 12 chapters in the game as they cover a lot in them.
The story in FE4 is arguably one of the best in the series. I love how the continent of Jugdral is given a large amount of world building right from the opening sequence detailing the Jugdral chronology, which details major events through history like the Sorrow of Miletos, the Miracle at Darna Fortress, and the fall of the Loptyrian Empire. It's enough to let you know about the Dark Lord Loptous and the Twelve Crusaders, which get referenced throughout the story. I like how the story splits in two with the first half following Sigurd before a major event happens, 16 years pass and you're following his son Seliph's attempt to free Jugdral from an empire that has become an authoritative regime. There's a lot going on in this story and I have to say that one of it's main villains has become one of my favourite characters in the series.
I loved FE4. It's sheer size and scope is unmatched in the series (only Radiant Dawn comes close), it's story, characters, and major events are memorable and it has become one of my favourite titles in the series. I hope it gets a remake someday to allow the many fans who haven't played this game the chance to do so and iron out a few of it's issues.
Genealogy of the Holy War is the fourth Fire Emblem title and one that introduced a lot of the mechanics that the modern titles still use to this day. This was where the weapon triangle made its first appearance and the magic triangle is also introduced. FE4 was also the first appearance of the skill system where characters would have skills that would enable different effects in and out of battle. Vantage for example lets a character always attack first when their hp is below 50%, while Paragon gives double xp. Because of the introduction of this system though, you need the Pursuit skill to enable the ability to attack twice during a round of combat rather than just outspeed your opponent. There are also items that give characters the effect of these skills like the Pursuit Ring and the Prayer Ring as well certain special weapons.
The other big thing that FE4 introduced was the relationship system. This is the earliest incarnation of the support system where characters could have dialogue with each other during battle. In FE4 however characters could fall in love and give each other stat bonuses as well as have children together. Characters will gain 'lover points' by standing next to each other and some will also gain a lot of 'lover points' for having a conversation with each other. Once a pair reach a certain amount of points, they will automatically pair up and have a child together if the woman survives until the end of chapter 5. Weapons and skills are passed down to the second gen so there can be a lot of planning to get the set up you want. It's a pretty cool system and the story explanation for the second gen is far better than how Awakening or Fates handle it. If characters aren't paired up by the end of chapter 5 you're given substitute characters for the second gen.
FE4 also has a few unique systems in play. Instead of having one money pot that everyone uses, each character has their own funds which can be increased through arena battles and saving villages. Also you CAN'T trade weapons with each other. If you want characters to have certain weapons or items, you have to sell it to a pawn shop and have the other character buy it back for an increased price. It's an annoying system that doesn't really add anything to the game and only serves to frustrate the player.
The biggest difference between FE4 and the rest of the series is its maps. These maps are MASSIVE and have multiple objectives and castles to capture. The size of these maps give a great sense of the scale of the war that's going on. Seizing a castle will usually trigger an event and start the next conflict as a bunch of units come out of the next castle to seize. To complete a map you have to seize all of the castles and you will lose if you lose a castle to the enemy. This forces you to make use of all of your units as you leave some behind to defend a castle as the enemy can come for you from different directions. It's a great idea and offers a more unique take on FE strategy with a lot of battles happening all over the map. The problem with it though is these maps can be a slog to play through. If your not on a horse or a pegasus it takes ages to traverse the map and if you're a General or a Knight you're going to be left behind to defend a castle. Luckily warp staves allow you to warp to any of your castles so that alleviates the burden of moving characters a little and you also have the ability to save at the start of your turn which is a great help. Another problem with the large maps is the amount of units they allow on the field. You are unrestricted in the number of units field so between you and the enemy a single turn can take a long time. With all of the maps being huge, there are no indoor maps or boat maps. I would've liked a couple of smaller skirmishes to change things up a little. Don't worry about having around 25 of these maps to play though - there's only 12 chapters in the game as they cover a lot in them.
Castles allow you to do a multitude of things. In allied castles you can shop, fight in the arena, store items, and repair weapons. Yep, for a price you can repair worn or broken weapons and this is a system I like as it lessens the worry of using a rarer weapon for fear of it breaking. In the starting castle you can also promote units that are level 20 which I prefer to using Master Seals, but it would've been nice to do this at every castle. One other cool feature is rescuing villagers or children. If a unit rescues someone, they gain a level. It's a neat feature that's good for levelling up weaker units.
The story in FE4 is arguably one of the best in the series. I love how the continent of Jugdral is given a large amount of world building right from the opening sequence detailing the Jugdral chronology, which details major events through history like the Sorrow of Miletos, the Miracle at Darna Fortress, and the fall of the Loptyrian Empire. It's enough to let you know about the Dark Lord Loptous and the Twelve Crusaders, which get referenced throughout the story. I like how the story splits in two with the first half following Sigurd before a major event happens, 16 years pass and you're following his son Seliph's attempt to free Jugdral from an empire that has become an authoritative regime. There's a lot going on in this story and I have to say that one of it's main villains has become one of my favourite characters in the series.
The highlight of the story has to be Chapter 5
This is one of my all time favourite chapters in FE. It begins with Sigurd's wounded father, Byron, making his way to Sigurd to pass on the holy weapon Tyrfing. Unfortunately there's enemy units in the way so you have to quickly rescue him before he gets killed. Just when you think you've done enough to save Byron, he dies due to his wounds. Then after seizing Lubeck castle, Quan (Sigurd's best friend) and Ethyln (Sigurd's sister and Quan's wife) show up in Yied Desert with a bunch of cavalier units to help Sigurd. Unfortunately they've been tailed by a bunch of Thracian dragon knights wielding Horseslayers. It doesn't matter what you do, it's impossible to make it to Quan and Ethyln in time. You sit and watch them being massacred in the desert while dealing with other things going on in the map. Ethlyn's daughter is spared but taken by the leader of the dragon knights. Eventually Sigurd's army makes it to Duke Reptor and Velthomer mages. Again you're given some hope that the tide is turning as the Velthomer mages turn against Duke Reptor and help take him down. After the battle Arvis invites Sigurd to celebrate his deeds near Belhalla. Sigurd and his army are welcomed by Arvis and his Velthomer mages. The two have a pleasant chat and then Arvis cuts Sigurd off, claims he is a traitor, brings out Deirdre (Sigurd's wife who had lost her memories after being captured by Manfroy and left on Arvis' doorstep for the two to fall in love), and then proceeds to burn Sigurd and his army to death with meteor spells
The way this chapter is done in game is brilliant. It does a fantastic job of giving you a bit of hope before ripping it away from you. I also appreciate that Intelligent Systems had the guts to permanently kill off the main character and most of his army. It's a great way to get you fired up for the second generation and avenge Sigurd's death. It's also awesome seeing all of these different battles take place on the same map.
I loved FE4. It's sheer size and scope is unmatched in the series (only Radiant Dawn comes close), it's story, characters, and major events are memorable and it has become one of my favourite titles in the series. I hope it gets a remake someday to allow the many fans who haven't played this game the chance to do so and iron out a few of it's issues.
