What's the harm in a little reckless besieging? Let's Play FE: The Sacred Stones

*Hops on* Berserkers are always fun :P

Eh, slayer isn't useful unless you're doing Creature Campaign. Then it's god. Having both anima and light at your disposal is much more useful ingame, though, because Moulder will probably rape everything with his stats anyway, and won't need the over kill. That's my own personal thoughts, though.

And we need Ross as a Berserker, it's the only way.

Gah, fine, I'll jump on the Bersercar too.

I more or less agree, although I would note that the last several stages of the main campaign are almost exclusively populated by monsters, which Slayer absolutely dominates. The final boss is also considered a monster, so a Bishop actually does more damage with the non-legendary Light Tomes.

That said, if Ross goes Berserker and the RNG is the least bit cooperative, then the game will have already lost any semblance of difficulty it had.

You mean, none?

I still say Rausten Court is one of the hardest missions in any of the games that came west.

It's not that hard, unless you're talking about the hard mode version. If you are, then I can't tell you otherwise, yet. FE7 is much, much harder. Sacred Stones has no difficulty, whatsoever (says the man having trouble in hard mode!).

Whatever FE8 has, FE6 probably trumps it.

Oh, yeah, and I've played FE6, too, and that's pretty hard. Fun game, wish it came over to America.

Yes, FE6 is harder than anything in FE8, that is why I phrased it the way I did. That game never came over here. I always hated how in that game enemies appeared and moved on the same turn, so unless you knew where the enemies were coming before hand it was game over for you (or dead units if you don't automatically reset on character death). Not game ruining, but definitely annoying.

Hey look Chapter 4




Let’s Play Fire Emblem :The Sacred Stones
Chapter 4: Ancient Horrors



This chapter is a significant increase in complexity from the previous chapters. Which is definitely a good thing, though it is still really easy. It also introduces monsters (other than dragons, I guess), which I think may be a first, though Fire Emblem Gaiden for the Famicom, from which Sacred Stones adopts many of it’s changes, may have had them. I don’t remember any monsters from the other GBA games, at least.



I am sure nothing bad will happy. Especially nothing to force a pitched battle.



Holy Crap, monsters!

Eirika:
Those strange figures... What...What are they? Are they...human?
Seth: I've never seen anything like it. What could they be?

Just a little bit south, in this other town:



Lute: ......
Artur: Lute, please, it's dangerous outside the walls. Stay here in the village.
Lute: Those are revenants, aren't they? They were the vanguard of the Demon King in the days of darkness. The Tome of Nazania describes them in chapter 2, section 7, paragraph 8.
Artur: You know of them?
Lute: Duh! I'm a prodigy. I can recall almost everything I see or hear. According to the book, revenants attack using razor-sharp claws. Sounds painful, wouldn't you say?
Artur: Yes, er, well... Be that as it may, I must go aid those travelers outside. You should stay here within the safety of the village.
Lute: Very well. I don't mind staying here. In fact, it seems that smarter choice.



Lute: Even if this village were to be assaulted by monsters, I could defend it perfectly.

Yay! Lute. Enough with these salt of the earth, good soldier boring characters, lets get some personality in this army.

Artur: My name is Artur. The temple has assigned me the task of cleansing the forest of these...things. There are so many of the fiends, though. I wonder if I stand much chance alone. So if you would, please flee now while you have the chance.
Eirika: Fiends? You're not talking about the same fiends that served the ancient Demon King? That can't be right... They're nothing but legends and fairy tales...
Artur: Yes, I felt the same say when I heard. And yet here they are. This place is filled with them. I wonder how far they're spread... Surely they're not in Renais alone.
Eirika: But..why are they here? How?
Seth: Beware, Your Highness! Something approaches!



Artur takes out the Eye with what I think is an automatic critical.



Finally, the preparations menu. Now I actually have choices to make about how the battle goes. For this one I have to leave 2 characters behind. Garcia finds his seat on the bench, maybe forever. For this battle he is joined by Colm. I have no need for a thief on this map, but I might need Seth’s mobility and a quick save because I always mess something up.



Still a pretty small map, but there are more enemies than last time. This is probably the first mission that trouble is a possibility, though it is still pretty easy.



I do like how they do not just tell you to recruit Lute by visiting the town, but do make it clear you should visit it.

Now let’s get a look at our first offensive magic user



The only real problem with Artur is that you get Lute in the same Chapter. I don’t really have much to say about him. I think he’s the only user of light magic until we start getting promoted units, so there’s that. I’m not sure even overwhelming support would get Artur into many missions, as my magic units are pretty well decided. He’s not knocking out Lute or L’Arachel.

I move Neimi to the left. 67% is not a sure thing her, but it’s the only shot I’ve got.



Fortunately Neimi hits both times, but it is still not enough to take the Revenant, which is the class name of the grey zombies. They are generally the weakest of the monster classes. Vanessa moves over to finish him off.



Vanessa has two shots to finish him off, but she only needs one. I went ahead and threw in a second pic because I love the Pegasus Knight’s animation. Nose dive!



The troops advance, with only Eirika able to reach an enemy.



Eirika, who is already pretty great, is guaranteed to finish this guy off. Unfortunately he manages to connect, though only for a measly 4 damage. But she only has 17 HP, so any hit is a potentially dangerous one.

Artur gets to visit the northerly town and acquire an iron axe from a helpful villager.



I advance the rest of my troops to end my turn. I am already regretting bringing Seth along. I do not need a unit I have no intent on using in this battle, but it’s no big loss.



The sword wielding bonewalker, the first skeleton class, suicides against Eirika. Also, I love her attack animations. It is a toss up between her and Hector as my favorite lord.



Turn 2. Artur is not quite strong enough to take this revenant down, which is perfect as it allows Ross to finish him off.

You know, I've always found it funny that bows are usually used as weapons for girls or cowards.

Have any game designers ever used one? The upper body strength you'd need to launch an arrow far and kill something isn't going to be found in the general RPG female design.

Not a particularly good Level Up, but Ross has so many and they come so fast it is no big deal.



Hey look! I found a use for Seth. Despite being much better than Marcus, there is no good reason to use Seth at all until after you choose which path you are taking.



One reason you don’t need Seth is that Gilliam is just high leveled enough to be over powered, but doesn’t suffer from the promoted class exp lessening.



Just to be safe, and to get that slow coming healer exp, I have Moulder top off Eirika.



Vanessa heads for the town to get Lute, but she can’t quite kill the bonewalker there.

Franz finishes it off with no trouble. Neimi tries desperately to catch up and get her share of monster killing experience. I also move Eirika back, because I know enemy reinforcements are coming from the rear and I want to back off my reliance on her.



This evil eye squints at Moulder for a few damage and the rest of the evil troops advance on the enemies 2nd turn.

At the start of turn 3 our heroine finally appears





I guess I did not need to show all the dialogue, but a heroine’s entrance needs some fanfare.

Turn 3



Incoming enemy from the rear, drop altitude.


In other words, enemy reinforcements behind my army.



Artur gets one of the remaining 16 enemies with no problems.



Franz takes out an eye, but takes a hit. He also gets a



Remember how I was complaining about Franz’s level ups? This one was pretty good. I have no complaints.



Gilliam hit’s the one across the bridge and Moulder heals Franz while Vanessa visit’s the town. Which means…

And so joins Lute. As you can see she is confident in her abilities. As I’ve been harping on all battle, now we have some personality. Let’s see what we got.



Lute is very good. I personally guarantee she maxes magic if we make her a Mage Knight, but why do that. Mages on horses aren’t so great, not at the cost of a lower magic cap and no light magic. Lute is awesome whatever you make her, plus she has hilarious supports with other good characters. Like Ross. She will be used. Like right now.



She is not yet fast enough to double this guy, but she does enough damage that she’ll get him next time.



Eirika, Neimi and Ross will take care the baddies coming up behind us, with Seth there just in case.

Enemy turn 3.



This revenant is punished for the impudence of rotting flesh all over Gilliam’s armor. Gilliam makes a strong case for continued use by nabbing a strong level up.




When this happens I understand why people love them some Knights, but I always end up leaving them behind.



O no! Eirika is going to turn out terrible. Seriously, though, she could get level ups like this until she changes class and still be pretty awesome.

Another revenant attacks Eirika, another revenant dies.



Lute and Neimi each have to deal with zombie attacks as well. Too bad Neimi is not able to counter attack. I am afraid I may have underestimated the monster's ability to hit Lute, which could be trouble.



Artur gets one as well.



Lute finishes off the one she attacked on my turn, but she also gets hit again, leaving her dangerously close to death. Still, a fairly disastrous turn for my enemies.



Neimi can’t quite it down in one turn, so Ross comes over to finish.

A middle of the road level up for Artur. Not a really bad one, what with the speed, but nothing great.



Boring Moulder gets a boring level up.



Eirika moves into position for the final push. I’m not sure I’ll use her, but I’d like to have her around. Lute comes up just short of a level.



Vanessa finishes Gilliam’s leftovers.



Franz cuts the number of remaining enemies from 5 to 4. I slide Gilliam down to some trees and end my turn.

Enemy turn 4



Another enemy throws himself against Gilliam while the power of the squint hurts Franz. Still, much better for the enemies than last turn.

Turn 5



Strength and speed. That is all you need.



Down to three enemies.



A critical from Artur cuts it to two.

Moulder does what he does and Vanessa again finishes off Gilliam’s leavings.



Not so good a level for Vanessa. It is only one, though. And more speed is never bad.



I move Gilliam and Franz into position for the final confrontation. No need to rush.



The boss monster is a little too tough for Franz to kill, but his sword level does increase. It’s my turn now.



Lute seems like a good choice to finish. And with 2 shots at 86% she is sure to kill him.



Well damn. That sucks.

I have Moulder heal her just in case things continue to go wrong.



With a fairly low hit percentage, I do not expect Vanessa to kill this guy, but at least she can whittle him down for exp and security.



Not only do both shots hit, but it nets her her 2nd bad level up in a row. Vanessa chances for making the team after Tana's arrival look slim.

Post-battle wrap-up time.



I’d thought those fiends nothing more than myth and legend.

Seth:
Those revenants are said to be the least of the dark creatures. And yet, the weakest of them could outmatch any normal man. We cannot take this enemy lightly.

Lute:
Oh, yes. There are much worse then those revenants and the entombed... Let's see, there's the bonewalkers, mauthe doogs, gargoyles, baels... Why, I'll bet you just about any creature of lore could be walking again. Yes, we're in for some trouble. Even my fabulous power may not be enough.

Artur:
O divine light, show me... Is this a sign of dark days to come?

Eirika:
By all that's holy, what is happening?

Seth:
Princess Eirika, perhaps it would be wise to return to Frelia and regroup. Pressing forward seems foolish in light of recent events. We cannot face both Grado's forces and more of those terrible things.

Eirika:
Seth, I follow your point, and nothing would please me more then running for safety. But what of my brother? He and his men are still trapped in the same situation we are. I know full well that I may be leading us into even greater danger, but... Please try to understand.

Seth:
I do, my princess, and I vow to see you through this safely.




Eirika:
Well, we just finished...

L’Arachel:
Ah, glad tidings indeed! The heavens must be rejoicing! I am.. a tad disappointed however. After all, I did rush all the way here to show you the splendor of my might.

Dozla:
Gwah ha ha! It's a real shame, innit, Lady L’Arachel?!

Rennac:
What's shameful is the way you drag us around the countryside.

Eirika:
Pardon me, but...who are you?

L’Arachel: Me?



L’Arachel:
Oh, yes, you're right. Oh, I get so careless sometimes! Now, I must ride off in anonymity. Oh, how beautifully romantic!

Eirika:
Uh... Right.

L’Arachel:
Fare thee well, strangers. Perhaps our paths will cross again. Come, Dozla! Rennac! We ride!

Dozla:
Gwah ha ha! Let's go, Rennac!

Rennac:
All right, all right.

Eirika:
...What was that about?

The best thing about L'Arachel is how no one ever successfully challenges her delusions.

Lute is always one of the characters I use because she's so good.

That doesn't stop me from wishing that someone would freaking slap her.

Have you ever seen a girl who used a bow? I knew a girl in high school who mostly used a 150 lb draw longbow and she could easily pass for a jRPG character, if one of the flat-chested school of feminine design. While she's the most striking example, none of the other female archers I've known have been bulky either.

This, minus the first part.

Also, that archer argument is precisely why I want Ross as a Warrior. He might be a kid, but he's a tough kid.

Sure, if you've got massive, really obvious muscles you definitely have really strong muscles, but generally people with strong arm muscles look like runners. In other words, if you look at their arms you will see some sort of development but you're not going to see a bodybuilder's physique.

Meh, not really sure where I'm going with this, so we may as well just drop it.

EDIT: Also, if Neimi doesn't pass the realism test, Ross sure as hell doesn't, no matter what his battle sprite looks like.

L'arachel is the best.

That was great XD
Anyone seen any more?