As the conclusion to the Hoshido arc is drawing near, it's time to write a last
progress report before wrapping up the whole thing. The final showdown is going
to be bloody and messy, that much is sure: not only are story-related battles
getting harder by the chapter, but I stopped clearing Challenges a couple of
chapter ago in order to get in shape for the Nohr arc. The last three
engagements, i.e. from chapter 23 to 25, were ruthless battles that I managed
to win only by the skin of my teeth, with just a couple of characters still
standing at the end. I was literally down to my last unit during the
chapter 25 confrontation, with only Ryoma alive to slay the boss; you can
easily imagine the relief that washed over me when this survivor hanging onto
half of his HP bar landed a death blow on said boss. While I find the fact that
Ryoma is so much more powerful than other units a bit overindulgent and
ridiculous overall, his amazing capabilities certainly come in handy in such
circumstances.
Ryoma "I save the day" aside, my final dream team comprises Corrin
(obviously), Kaze, Scarlet, Kagero, Reina, Hinata, Oboro, Subaki, Hana, Azama,
Takumi and Shura, as well as Caeldori and Hisame, who are respectively Subaki's
daughter and Hinata's son. I generously
used Master Seals on all units that could benefit from it, which led to most
interesting class changes. Hana is now a Priestess and can wield both the bow
and the staff; likewise, Azama has gained the ability to fling around the
naginata when becoming a Great Master. Subaki and daughter Caeldori are now
Falcon Knights and can also wield low-tier healing staves, which makes a grand
total of four polyvalent units that can work both on the offensive and healing
front. Most of my other units have become offensive powerhouses through the
class change process: Hisame and Hinata are now Swordmasters, Kaze and Kagero
are Master Ninjas, Oboro is a Basara and Takumi a Sniper, and all can wreak
havoc on the battlefied. My force is overall well-balanced and doing a decent
job on the battlefield, if not a stellar one; but I attribute my often
lacklustre fighting performances to my lack of experience in the SRPG field.
The only notable issue that cropped up lately is the weakness of my four flying
units, who have been regularly and thoroughly overwhelmed in the last
confrontations. They were doing a great job in the first twenty chapters with
their ability to cover large expanses of terrain and scour isolated opponents
out of the battlefield, but they are clearly reaching their limits in the last
chapters. With hindsight, I wish I had ditched two or three of them earlier and
focused on other potentially interesting offensive units; but what's done is
done, and I have to make do with the force I created with my own hands.
For my fellow gamers interested in the romantic side of Fire Emblem,
here are the pairings I managed to craft throughout my playthrough: Kaze/Corrin (obviously), Caeldori/Hisame, Takumi/ Kagero,
Subaki/Hana and Hinata/Oboro. I also paired Orochi with Saizo and Silas with
Azura in the early stages of my playthrough—before mercilessly ousting the four
of them from my force as I focused on other units. As you can see, I played it
safe and mostly went along the game's not-so-subtle pairing suggestions. Poor
Ryoma didn't find a mate yet, nor did Azama and Shura; as for Reina and
Scarlet, they are still single as well—courtesy of the game itself, which doesn't
allow them to marry for some reason. All in all, I think we're pretty much set
romantically, as I won't integrate any new units just for the sake of marrying
my remaining trio of bachelors.
I'm now more eager than ever for wrap up my playthrough. Bring it on, game! My
force is all prepped up and my body is ready! This is the final push, dear
fellow gamers; I'll see you when I'm done beating Garon to a pulp and dancing
over his remains. Thanks for reading, and be my guest anytime!
No comments:
Post a Comment