Before long, the enemy grew less watchful: the time to slip away had come. Still, the prince could not quell the sadness in his heart for his sister Elice.
Prince Marth. …Sire? Sire! Are you listening?!
Huh? …Oh. Malldeus.
Get ahold of yourself, Sire! I know how you grieve, but the Gra host that pursues us will not be interested. We must keep moving, and with all haste at that.
I...I'm sorry. These thoughts are hard to put aside.
From here, we will cross out of Altea and begin our escape to Talys. I trust you are prepared?
Talys... I've heard the name. An island kingdom to the east, isn't it?
That is correct. The king there was a good friend to your father- and perhaps more importantly, a true friend. It was Princess Elice's wish that you seek refuge in Talys should things ever go awry.
Me, but not her...
I've arranged for a boat to take us from the northeast shore. But to get there, we'll first need to cut through a prison to the north. I managed to come by a key to the premises. Let me hand it over.
Now, on the road, you may notice people who seem to be fighting for Gra against their own wishes. Before you resort to your blade, you should try talking to them first.
Now we have Prologue 4. This one is rather infamous in the Fire Emblem community for its controversial twist which we’ll be seeing in just a bit. It has caused quite a bit of hatred towards the game.
We don’t start with any new units this time. Our units start at the bottom left corner and we must make our way to the top right corner passing through the prison with the key that Malledus just handed us. Our Cavaliers immediately begin their push and attack the enemy units with Marth following them closely. Jagen goes and visits a village that is nearby.
Boy, I don’t envy you! The enemy horde is closing in on you faster’n a bolt of Thoron. You and your friends had better hightail it on outta here!
That guy is right. We don’t have time to waste. When we end Player Phase, we get some more plot.
Enemies south of the prison?
Yes, sir. Not many of 'em, but the scouts say they're a tough bunch all the same. And guess who's with 'em...
...You're saying the prince is coming this way?
Yes, sir. How ought we proceed? The main force 'as yet to arrive, and- to be honest, sir- we need 'em.
Bah! You're cowed too easily. We can win...if we set a trap.
Er...a trap, sir?
The prince of Altea will be ours. Just do as I tell you, and we'll pluck this royal plum long before the main force can show up to steal all the glory. Heh...
Meanwhile, at the prison…
Grrrmph...
Heh. I thought Altea was the great 'ero Anri's kingdom! Didn't take more'n a couple of days to break you, now did it, Gaggles?
Mmph! Arrumph!
What's the matter, Gaggles? Can't talk cause you're gagged, Gaggles? Ba ha ha! I'll letcha in on a little secret. Altea's little princeling is on 'is way 'ere right this moment.
.....!
Ooh, but sad for you, you look awful dangerous in the uniform... MISTER GRA SOLDIER!
Gugrrrmph!
Once the prince sticks you like a pig, we get to call him Marth the Tyrant, coz 'e kills 'is own countrymen. Won't that be an 'oot!
Rrrmph.
So long, Gaggles! Better start praying to your 'igher deity of choice!
Welp, we better go help him. Gaggles shall no longer be gagged.
Marth goes up to the entrance to the prison and opens the door with the door key. The door key is used up and cannot be used on the second door that blocks our exit from the prison. I sense a trap…
Cain decides to get a sweet level. The Archer who got killed also dropped his weapon. Sometimes, a weapon or an item in the enemy unit’s inventory will be flashing green meaning that you will obtain that weapon or item should you kill the unit. In this case, it’s an Iron Bow though we don’t have anyone who can use it. We also visit the house in the bottom right corner.
Sometimes victory on a battlefield requires that someone you care about make a sacrifice. But parting with one comrade may be the only way to meet another. You need to accept your losses in life and move forward.
Cain was running a bit low on health and uses a vulnerary. Marth goes towards Gaggles, I mean Gordin, and we get a new option labeled ‘Talk’.
Wait a minute…
HE WAS PSYCHIC!
Rrrgmph mrph!
Huh? You've been gagged? Here, I'll get that... Wait, I know you! You're one of our archers, er...
Gordin, sire! My name is Gordin. The enemy captured me and left me in this mortifying state.
I see. Well, I'm glad you're unharmed. But I'm afraid we cannot stay here a moment longer. Stay behind me and-
I can fight, sire! If you have a bow I could use, I would be honored to fight at your side.
For some reason of the other, there are many characters who start out on the enemy’s side but can be persuaded to join your cause by the right character. Recruiting enemy units and turning them into allies is one of the most common ways to recruit new units for your cause.
Marth also takes a vulnerary when he’s done talking to Gordin.
So here’s Gordin:
He’s an archer with poor base stats and stuck with only 2 range. Meaning that training him is hard work since he can only get in 1 attack on player phase and is unable to gain experience in the enemy phase unless an enemy attacks him from range since you only gain experience if you manage to damage the enemy which Gordin can’t do to anyone attacking him at melee range.
As we end player phase, we’re in for a rough surprise.
That’s King Jiol of Gra, the country that betrayed Altea and killed Marth’s father and possibly sister too.
No...Anri save us...Of all the places to be beset! Sire, that is Gra's main force- and they are accompanied by the knights of Grust's Sable Order. Our chances of routing them are slim, I'm afraid, and those of slipping away undetected afterward, all but nil...
Then we've no hope?
I...I can think of one strategy. We could leave a decoy behind for when the enemy catches up.
A decoy?
It's you they're after, sire. Were one of your men to stay behind disguised as you...Well, the enemy ought to take the bait. That would give you, and the others time to escape.
He will act as a decoy by dressing as you and luring the enemy force away.
But Malledus, how will he find his way back to us?
Sire...He may not. You must part with one of your comrades. There is no other way.
...Well, I will find a way! You cannot expect me to agree to...to abandon one of our own to a death at the hands of the enemy. Surely there must be another way...
Forgive me, sire...But this is our only chance. You know as well as I do that you must not die here today.
So yeah, this just happened. In a series where they encourage you to keep all your characters alive, Shadow Dragon comes along and demands that you must sacrifice a unit to move ahead. It was very controversial in the fandom and much hate has been directed towards this game due to this requirement.
Malledus isn’t kidding when he says there is no other way. We MUST use a decoy. Do NOT try to fight these guys. They WILL slaughter you. These units are of the Knight class meaning Stone Wall. Each of them has massive strength and enormous defense and is equipped with a Silver Lance. For reference, your strongest character at this point is Jagen. With his epic Silver Lance, Jagen can do an amazing… …3 damage to a Knight, doubling the knight meaning net damage will be 6 to each. Each Knight will do a massive 15 damage to Jagen ensuring that he won’t be able to kill even 1 knight.
You must send a unit to the fort as a decoy even if you could take out those knights (which you can’t) since the gate letting you go north is closed and we have no more door keys. Any unit can be used as a decoy exceot Marth for obvious reasons. There are 3 potential candidates for the decoy position for me.
Frey: You know how Frey is exclusive to Normal Mode and the Prologue is skipped in Hard Mode? That means Frey is the canonical decoy. Him having the same hair colour as Marth also provides an in-story reason for him to be the decoy as he would be able to pull off a Marth disguise better than the others.
Jagen: Jagen has no use as a unit whereas the others do. That alone is a good reason to use him as the decoy. He is Marth’s most loyal knight and has been his retainer for all of the prince’s life. In-story, Jagen would show zero hesitation. He knows he is old and his use on the battlefield is limited and this can be his one last act of service to his liege.
Gordin: Gordin is an archer. He really isn’t any good since it’s so hard to train him. There isn’t much in-story reason for him to take on the decoy role over the others though.
In the end, our choice is:
Gordin will be the decoy, his last act of service to the prince who just saved him from death…
There is one alternate scenario. You don’t have to sacrifice a unit to move ahead but regardless of your actions, you will not be completing this chapter with more than 5 characters. For reference, counting Gordin, we have 6 characters. So what is the alternate scenario?
Instead of recruiting Gordin, you can just kill him. If you do this, the Gra Captain will open the door and charge his units at you. King Jiol’s troops will never show up. This isn’t exactly a better scenario but there’s nothing we can do.
Gordin makes his way to the fort while the knights of Gra slowly march towards us. Meanwhile, at the top exit of the prison, we lure an archer towards us and kill him with a Javelin.
Gordin reaches the fort just in time.
Oh yeah? Who's that, then? That bloke over there is dressed in the same clothes. Could be either of 'em.
Simpletons! Use your heads! One of them ran; the other didn't. What does that tell you? Easy! The one who stayed behind is trying to buy time for the one who fled.
So, er...the one who took off is-
The real prince, you idiot, yes! Hie, troops, after him! Put that craven whip to the sword!
The enemy knights fall for our decoy and every last one of them goes chasing after Gordin.
Quickly, Malledus, we must head south and rescue him!
No, sire. We have to press on.
Press on? Gordin might be dying back there!
If he were, then why would you be so selfish as to let him die in vain? Honor him, by allowing his life and his choice to mean something!
…Gordin ……
…Alright
I will honor him. ...I will go.
Meanwhile, to the north of the prison…
The prince fled south? Bah! Seems the plum's fallen too far from our tree... No matter. Open the north door! We can still crush the Altean rabble he left behind...
And just like that, the exit to the prison is opened, allowing us to charge.
We kill a few of the soldiers just outside and make our way to the boss.
Sire, there is a village over yonder. Its residents may be willing to help. Why don't you try paying them a visit?
Villages are a bit different then homes. Only Marth can visit them and you get a wide variety of things there. Mostly, what you get are items but you occasionally get a weapon or even a new character.
At the top left corner of the map, there were two inconspicuous forts that you wouldn’t think of going to. Now they reveal their purpose. Enemy reinforcements! In many chapters, enemy reinforcements will start pouring out after a set number of turns have passed and keep pouring out every set number of turns. This time, it’s just 2 Pegasus Knights and only once. Nothing major. However, Pegasus Knights are of the flying type class meaning they can unaffected by terrain and can pick off any weak units if you let them.
Cain once gain becomes bait for the reinforcements.
Cain weakens one so that Marth can get the kill.
Cain weakens the boss and gets a fantastic level to boot! Frey then finishes him off but fails to get enough experience to get a level.
Marth kills the last remaining enemy and gets an awesome level. On the next Player Phase, he visits the village.
My word! Aren’t you--No, you cannot stay here! Run! Before their soldiers come back! Here, this is the bow my granddaughter always used. Take it, sire! Please, promise you’ll stay safe...
We get a Steel Bow for out troubles. Villages can be visited anytime you want but more often than not, there will be a enemy of the Thief class on the map. If the Thief reaches the Village before Marth gets there, then it will be destroyed and any reward you might have gotten is lost. If Marth gets there first he presumably warns the village of the enemy who close of their gates preventing the thief from getting in.
And end. A new arrival comes to greet us.
Draug, is that you? What are you doing here?
I received word from Sir Malledus to ready a vessel, that we might slip away discreetly by sea.
Gra’s main army is still in pursuit of Gordin disguised as Marth and finally catches up to him.
A noble end. All rise in honour!
Goddamn, this localization is fucking awesome. I love it.
And that’s the final Prologue chapter. Next time is when the game really begins.
We had two new characters here. That’s right. Two. However, recruiting the second is out of the question for me. You’ll see why. First of course, is Gordin and the second is another archer, Norne.
Gordin:
Statistics:
Class: Archer
HP: 18 (60%)
Str: 5 (20%)
Mag: 0 (0%)
Skl: 3 (40%)
Spd: 4 (35%)
Lck: 4 (40%)
Def: 6 (30%)
Res: 0 (0%)
Mov: 5
Ranks: Bows D
Gordin is an archer meaning he has very limited options. He is stuck at 2 range meaning he is almost always completely unable to gain experience in Enemy Phase. He is very likely to fall behind very quickly. This would be fine if he had great stats or good growths but he has shit in both. On top of that, he only has 5 movement meaning he will fall behind on the map too. That low strength growth is what seals his fate.
Norne:
Statistics:
HP: 16 (60%)
Str: 4 (25%)
Mag: 0 (0%)
Skl: 1 (40%)
Spd: 5 (55%)
Lck: 3 (30%)
Def: 6 (20%)
Res: 0 (0%)
Mov: 5
Ranks: Bows D
1 Skill? Why? Anyway, Norne is exclusive to Normal mode and is one of the Side Story characters (Paralogues as they are now called). To recruit her, you must have less than 5 characters when you finish Prologue 4 meaning at least one other unit must die, not including the decoy. She has better growths than Gordin but her base stats are even worse. And you have to sacrifice a character to get her? Yeah, no. Not happening. She isn’t worth sacrificing a character for.
Apr 18, 2024 15:33:54 GMT -8
