Let's Play Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon

[Deleted]

Camus is actually seeming like the good guy that you think is the antagonist, but actually sides with the good guys. Who knows?

[praise luke]

Another good chapter homeboyyy.

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Mar 4, 2013 14:05:39 GMT -8 @thatwiseguy said:

Camus is actually seeming like the good guy that you think is the antagonist, but actually sides with the good guys. Who knows?

I won't give away spoilers but what you said is both true and false at the same time.

[Deleted]

Then that makes him even more interesting. I would like to see how it plays out.

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The conclusion to his character arc in this game is rather disappointing due the limitations on how much plot they could have in the original NES games and this game's insistence on being on a bare minimum of a remake. However, he inspired his own archetypes of characters (both male and female) who behave similar to him but their conclusions are handled better.

Some spoilers:

SPOILER: Click to show

he is in Gaiden (2nd game) and FE 3 / FE 12 where he is handled much better and given more screentime, especially in FE 12

[LuciferIX]

I swear Jack, this is still impressive. Good job so far.

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HOLY SHIT! It’s Medeus, the Shadow Dragon himself!

Please leave it to me, my lord. However, what are my orders, should General Camus betray us?
If he resists, you may kill him. I care not for him any longer.
As you wish...

Meanwhile…

General Camus! We have received news that General Bulzark of Dolhr is coming here.
...I see. It seems Emperor Medeus has risen from his slumber. It's not as if I didn't see this coming... But... what should I do...? Someone, bring the princess to me!
General Camus, has something happened?
Princess Nyna, Medeus's personal guards should arrive here, at the palace, at any moment.
...The Dolhrian army!? For what purpose?
To take you back to Dolhr, naturally. As a hostage to keep Archanea permanently and safely under their leash.
No! I refuse! I will not go to Dolhr!
I know. We must escape the palace at once. Sir Hardin, in the northern state of Aurelis, has the power to protect you. I'm sure he will extend you his courtesy. Anyway, let us be off. We haven't a moment to spare. Princess, get ready.
...Fine. But, Camus. You have no qualms with this? Will you not be in danger, should we escape?
Heh. It's too late to waver... I've known this was coming for me, for a long time already.
Then, you have made your decision? Camus, if you're going to abandon your country, then I...!
Nyna, you're mistaken. I don't fear Dolhr or Medeus, but the Kingdom of Grust means everything to me. I cannot betray it.
But, then... Why are you...? If you help me, you'll be a criminal. And yet, you say you'll remain in Grust? They'll kill you!
I remember telling you, Princess. That you could have my life anytime. Well, that time has come.

So noble, yet so foolish.


Camus...! I refuse! I don't want to be saved if you are sacrificed in exchange!
Haha, you're still a child, Nyna. It reminds me of when we first met, two years ago. If I recall correctly... You said you would command the Archanean League's army to topple Dolhr. And for that purpose, you have worked very hard in these two years. The people call you the white rose of Archanea. Neat and trim on the outside; you hide such passion and enthusiasm. You give courage to all who come in contact with you. Opportunities appear as we create them. And should one present itself, the people will surely unite and oppose Dolhr, no? Or do you intend to ruin everything you've worked for? All for a fleeting fancy? Nyna, were you always this weak?
...Camus... Very well. I shall do as you say. However, let me make this clear: my love for you means everything to me! It isn't some "fleeting fancy". You've always been on my mind...! True, I said I hated you once. But it was a lie; I was just fooling myself... It was love at first sight! I'm not strong at all... I need you by my side...! It was because you were here... that I had anything to live for...!
...Princess. That's enough. I get it...



Belf, take care of the princess. Give orders to the court ladies and hurry the preparations.
Yes sir. Understood.
Come, Princess. We must prepare.
...Very well.
General Camus! We, the Sable Knights, shall accompany you! With the Sable Order with you, no force of Dolhr can withstand you. Please, give us your orders!
That will not do. Should we sortie an official army, the alliance between Grust and Dolhr will crumble. The hostages--Prince Yubello included-- will be killed. And Medeus would no doubt burn Grust to ashes. I cannot allow that to happen!
Then, at least take us three with you. We'll desert the army. That way, we won't bring trouble to our motherland, Grust.
...I see... Thank you. I'm sorry... to get you all involved.
Are you joking with us? Either way, the princess is ready. It's time to take our leave, General.
Excellent, then let us march! Make sure the others suspect nothing.

Back to the league of evil…

Lord Bulzark! Princess Nyna has fled the palace.
What did you say!?
She left together with General Camus. Moreover, a few knights are with them.
Damn that Camus. He really has betrayed us. So, where are they headed?
They are headed straight north.
Aurelis, huh? Very well. Tell the entire army to march north! Strike them down as soon as you catch up. We must bring Nyna back before she takes refuge in Aurelis. Camus of Grust, you filthy traitor! I won't let you escape! Surrender while you still can!

Blast... We're almost in Aurelis, yet they've already caught up to us? Nyna, we'll hold them back here. Go ahead to Aurelis!
Camus...! Please. If I must flee, then it will be by your side. I want to be with you, at least until we reach Aurelis.
Nyna...
Leiden, Belf, Robert! We'll pass through the mountains, while we protect the princess. I understand there are many bandits in this region... Kill any bandits in our way, but do not pursue those who flee. Our objective is to make sure the princess safely reaches Hardin of Aurelis. Understood?
Yes sir!
Nyna, we'll pass this valley and run towards the northeast fortress. That's the border of Aurelis.
Camus...
Don't worry, we'll protect you. Now, let us make haste!

And so we’re at the beginning of the end. The beginning because this last little story is what sets up the events of the future. It’s the end because this is the last of the bonus chapters that were released.

You know what, I used to hate this map because of how infuriatingly hard it is but after a few repeated playthroughs, I’ve grown to love it. It is very demanding and requires you to bring your strategy skills to the front and strategize like crazy or you will lose.

We’ve got a few new units.



First we have Nyna, a returning character from the first bonus map. She only has a heal staff but I assure you, she’s going to complete use it up.



We have few Knights of Sable Order, said to be the greatest Order in the continent of Archanea and the pride of Grust. Belf and Leiden are cavaliers while Robert is a horseman.



And then we have the man himself, Camus the Sable. So renowned across the land that he was given the name of the very Order he leads. He has great stats and great weapons.

Of special note is the Gradivus. It functions as a Javelin meaning it has 1-2 range. It also has 19 might, making it the most powerful weapon in the game. It has another awesome property. It can be ‘used’ like an item, meaning it consumes one ‘use point’ to fully restore the user’s HP. So yeah, meet the most broken weapon in the game. And we’re gonna need it. Oh boy, are we gonna need it…



Bulzark is our boss and he’s special too. He’s a Manakete, or dragon in human form. With that Firestone of his, he will transform into a Fire Dragon when he attacks or is attacked. In a few turns, he’s start charging towards you.

The map is a zig-zag path and we have to get to the top right corner with Nyna. Near our starting position, there are a few thieves who carry weapons like the Ridersbane and a few statboosters.

Hey, hey, hey! Did ya 'ear? A big army's comin' 'ere from the south! I'm runnin' from 'ere. Don't wanna let 'em take this treasure I worked so hard to get mah hands on. If you guys wanna flee, now's the time! See ya!

The Ridersbane has 3x might against all those mounted units chasing us and statboosters are items that can be used to give a +2 permanent bonus to one stat, depending on the item so you had best get to those thieves before they escape.

You! Don't lower your guard. Our enemies may be few in number, but they're the elite of Grust's Sable Order. Moreover, Camus the Sable is equipped with the legendary spear, Gradivus. I will march forward as soon as my unit is ready, but you lot march on ahead and pursue the enemy! If things go well, you might be able to capture Nyna, who's slower for being on foot.



They keep chasing us and more keep coming. The final chapter doesn’t mess around.

Nyna and Camus share a talk…
Camus, are you alright?
You need not worry about me. Nyna, you cannot stay here forever. We'll hold the enemy back. Please, worry not for me. Just hurry ahead already!
Camus...
It's alright, Nyna. I'm not dying any time soon!




We make a nice little chokepoint to minimize the damage the enemy will do.



…

Someone, Anyone, please help me! Please? :’(

The boss catches up.



Yep, that’s a Fire Dragon in all his glory.

I use tactics like baiting him, then using one of the cavaliers as a decoy (don’t worry, they live, but only barely) until finally, the boss goes down to the might of Gradivus.



The boss is down but the bulk of the enemy still remains. However, thanks to my tactics, we bring them all down. This really took a while to do.



There is a village at the bottom.

You're being pursued by Dolhr, aren't ya? Please take this. I'm sure it'll assist you in your escape. I, too, am a citizen of Archanea... and as such, an ally to your cause. Now, go! You can't stay here any longer...

She gives us ‘Boots’ an item that can be used to give a permanent +2 to movement of the user. Would be great but we’ve already defeated everyone.



VICTORY!



And in comes Hardin with his most trusted knights.

...Good, it seems we're in time. All hands, engage the Dolhrian army! I shall save Princess Nyna myself!
Princess Nyna, I presume? I am Hardin, younger brother of King Aurelis. I heard the news and I came for you, Princess. You need not worry any longer. I shall protect you, even at the cost of my life.
So you are... Sir Hardin of... Aurelis. I am Nyna... I'm pleased... to meet...



Princess! Pull yourself together! Someone, bring a bishop here! And water! Quickly! Hurry!



And so Hardin manages to take Nyna to the safety of the Kingdom of Aurelis, ruled by Hardin’s brother.

But Medeus himself has arrived to deal with the troublesome Camus.

Camus... Your prowess is just what I'd expect from the Sable Knight, pride of Grust.
Gah! Medeus...!
Be proud, Camus. Your exploits forced my hand, and had me come here personally. You have annihilated an entire batallion by yourself, and even killed Bulzark. I must take care of you myself... You know, the last one who gave me this feeling was that troublesome Anri. However, your end has come. Your sword is broken and your spear lost. Even you cannot fight bare-handed.
...Indeed... It seems... I've reached my limit...
All hope turns in fear before me... Give up. Surrender quietly.
...Very well. As you wish. ...I have fulfilled my duty...
Men, seize him!
Yes sir!
Throw him in a cage, and drag it behind the carriage. He'll prove a fine example of the fate that awaits those who oppose Dolhr. Strip him! Give him only enough food to keep him alive. Everyone shall laugh at the misery of their once great hero, Camus...
Nyna... Did you reach Aurelis safely? Forgive me for my cowardice. Nyna... I...



Outro:

While Princess Nyna was being nursed back to health by Hardin, Camus was incarcerated in a small cage, and forced into a relentlessly painful journey to Dolhr. After that, Medeus stripped Camus of all his rights and privileges, confining him to a dungeon in Dolhr. Princess Nyna, under the protection of Hardin, called upon the entire continent to reform the Archanean League and go to war against the Empire. A few months later, one young man answered to Nyna's call, leaving the island that was his refuge. That young man was Marth...

And so we finish the bonus chapters. Marth’s real journey begins next time…

[praise luke]

Medus look like he is fresh from prison..

Good work as usual. xD

[Deleted]

Hardin is a boss and Camus is cool; but fuck Nyna.

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Mar 7, 2013 6:31:39 GMT -8 @thatwiseguy said:

Hardin is a boss and Camus is cool; but fuck Nyna.

The events in the later games are not entirely her fault. She is easily persuaded yes, but only because those persuading her had a good future for Archanea in mind. She sacrificed too much of her own happiness by not speaking out her own feelings because she cared more about Archanea. Too bad it all backfired in the most horrible and tragic way possible.

[┌༼ຈل͜ຈ༽┘]

”It is a time before time. Once seven nations shared the Archanean, continent with the kingdom of St. Archanea at its centre. Now, however, the gods of war and madness have descended upon this land and the kingdom of Dolhr, led by Medeus, the shadow dragon has colluded with Gharnef, ruler and supreme priest of the Khadein to destroy the central kingdom. Their victory was swift and terrible. Having reduced the once mighty capital of Archanea to rubble and ash, the Dolhrian forces swept forward like a wave of steel. Now even the kingdom of Altea, inheritors of the strength and the will of Anri the Great, has fallen at the feet of the army of night. A golden age of peace has been swallowed by the demons of darkness and now Medeus, Gharnef and death, rule half the world…”
-Fire Emblem OVA




”The lands were all burning, smothered in flame.
So the gods sent a hero, the demons to tame.
Across a desert of death and a sea of despair,
He gave us his courage, he taught us to dare.
A giant among men, ‘twas he who set us free.
He was the boldest of men, the mighty Anri.
The mighty Anri…”
-The Ballad of Anri, Fire Emblem OVA

So it begins. Today, we start the game for real. This is how it was presented, more or less, in the original NES game. And off we go!

"Marth, prince of Altea, was lucky. Though Dolhr took from him his kingdom and all but a handful of knights, they could not take his life. Marth lived, and made it to the eastern isle of Talys. Talys was a small border kingdom, with no grand order of knights to boast of, but its king selflessly gave Marth use of the isle's eastern fortress. And as he saw the boy shake with anger and grief, he also gave wise counsel:
"Prince Marth," he said, "I do not doubt you love your sister something great.
But you must be patient...time is on your side. If you stay here, and grow stronger, a time will come when you can help her."
So Marth stayed in Talys, protected by its kind people, and the years went by..."

As soon as the chapter begins, Talys is attacked by pirate. Those are some ballsy pirates. A thief ransacks a village before we are able to do anything unfortunately. But what’s this? A lone Pegasus rider escapes from the castle and makes her way to the fort on the other side of the isle of Talys.



Sire! You've a visitor from the castle. It's Princess Caeda!
Caeda, what is it? You look white as a sheet!
Marth, come quickly! It's the castle... Galder's pirates attacked from out of nowhere. They stormed the gates and cut down everyone in their path! I fear for my father's life...
Steady, Caeda. You did well to come find us. Altea's bravest knights aren't about to hand Talys to that flock of seafowl. Come, we'll make for the castle now!


Chapter 1 ahoy!



Hey look! It’s Marth! And he’s all grown up! Still has the same stats. It’s been about 3 years, man. What the hell have you been doing all this time? Other than him, all of our other units look the same and still have the same stats.



2 new units. First is Draug, who’s kind of shit. He starts of good but his growths are completely unsuited to his class. Second is Caeda. She looks pretty shit aside from that impressive speed but she’s really good. The reason for this is the weapon she carries: the Wing Spear. It has the same properties as the Rapier in that it is super effective (deals 3x damage) against armoured units and mounted units. Pray for some strength and you’re set.

All of our units move forward as far as they can and visit the 3 houses nearby. Marth also visits the village.

A knight belongs on the front lines, if you ask me. That thick armor can take a lot of abuse, so they should be up front protecting the other units.
I hear you need a high weapon level to wield the strongest weapons. Another thing: Keep your fliers away from those enemy archers!
Villages will keep their gates open for Prince Marth, but he must be quick-if a thief reaches a village before the prince does, there may not be any more village left to visit.

The village:

Prince Marth! ‘Tis good you stopped by. The villagers have collected 10,000 gold pieces. If it please you, use the money to arm your warriors, and rid our land of those pirates.



SWEET! Money can be used to buy items and weapons. There’s an armoury right next to the village where we can buy weapons. We’ll go there afterwards.



Marth weakens the Thief and someone takes the kill but I forget who. We march forward, killing stuff. Really not much to say.



Frey gets an acceptable level whereas Abel gets an awesome one.



Caeda gets a level. No strength yet but defence is good. She has an outrageous speed growth so she’ll always get speed.



Weaken with Marth so Frey can get a level. It’s a good one too. We also visit the two remaining homes.

Galder? That’s the harbor town west of Talys out beyond the water. These days, a pirate by the name of Gomer calls the shots there. The whole town’s at the mercy of his crew.
A man of the staff by the name of Wrys lives in the village south of the castle. He was hopin' to meet your prince.

Interesting. Let’s go meet this Wrys guy.



Woo! We get our first healer! Sure he isn’t that good but his only job is too heal others and he can do that job well enough. Speaking of which, we tell Wyrs to heal some of our wounded units.




Heal Staves heal (10 + user’s magic) health. Nifty.



Draug has been making his way to the armoury where we buy ourselves 3 Javelins, one Iron Lance and one Iron Sword. You can also sell items here.



Don’t expect much in the way of good levels from Wrys. By his standards, this is a good level. His job is to heal not fight. All he needs is Magic so this could be called a bad level for him too.



Marth goes up against the boss who has a few words to say to us. He gets the bare minimum of what I’d call a good level.



Caeda finishes him and gets a decent level. Still no strength. Caeda, as a unit, lives and dies on whether she can get strength. If she has more than 10 strength by level 20, she’s good to go. Marth seizes and completes the chapter.


Lad, I believe you are ready. If you wish to seek out allies in Aurelis, I will give you what soldiers I can to see you arrive there safely.

Another thing...During your travels, you are certain to meet many who despise
Dolhr. Some may be hiding in villages; other may have been captured or forced to fight against their will or better judgment.

It falls upon you to find these individuals and win them over your cause. Understood, lad? Then go! The time has come! Be patient, steady, strong: I know you will do great things.

Caeda’s father, King Talys, expresses his gratitude to us and gives us advice.

And so ends Chapter 1. 3 new units this time. In the early chapters, you get a lot of new units one after the other so these sections will be much larger for a while.

Draug:



Statistics:
HP: 20 (60%)
Str: 7 (20%)
Mag: 0 (0%)
Skl: 3 (40%)
Spd: 3 (40%)
Lck: 1 (30%)
Def: 11 (30%)
Res: 0 (0%)
Mov: 5
Ranks: Lances D

Draug’s growths do not match his stats and class. He is a knight with a 40% spd growth. That’s weird. Draug isn’t really too good but he isn’t bad by any means either. Really low strength growth is what keeps him back. Better hope for strength. Use him and he won’t fail you but he won’t do you any wonders either

Caeda:



Statistics:
HP: 16 (40%)
Str: 4 (20%)
Mag: 1 (0%)
Skl: 6 (60%)
Spd: 12 (85%)
Lck: 9 (70%)
Def: 7 (10%)
Res: 6 (0%)
Mov: 8
Ranks: Lances D

Caeda is another unit whose viability depends completely upon how much strength she gains. On the other hand, she has a crazy base speed and growth. You’ve been screwed over if she doesn’t max out her speed by level followed closely by her luck stat. Notably, she has the Wing Spear and it is completely broken. It is absurdly powerful against armoured and mounted units. Caeda also flies and has 8 movement. In short, Caeda is really good but you had best pick a god and pray she gets her strength.

Wrys:



Statistics:
HP: 16 (20%)
Str: 0 (0%)
Mag: 2 (20%)
Skl: 5 (20%)
Spd: 6 (20%)
Lck: 2 (40%)
Def: 3 (0%)
Res: 6 (45%)
Mov: 5
Ranks: Staves E

Wrys is your first healer and really isn’t any good. Nevertheless, a healer is a healer and he’ll do for now. His growths are really bad aside from Resistance. The healer we get later on is much better but starts off weak so Wrys will be your prime healer for the next few chapters.

[Deleted]

I got kind of annoyed with how you said, "someone took the kill but I forgot who it was". That sounds really lazy. Other than that, it was good.

[LuciferIX]

AS much as I usually like the maneuverable types, in Fire Emblem, where if they die you lose them for the rest of the game, I definitely prefer having more with defense than speed. Even in playing the on on the Wii a couple nights ago restarting the level because one of the weak ones got killed was getting to be too annoying and slow and steady was preferred.

But you play this the way I played WoW. Analyzing every stat to know who, what, and how to build. So it's just the difference in play style I guess.

[┌༼ຈل͜ຈ༽┘]

Mar 10, 2013 18:53:00 GMT -8 @thatwiseguy said:

I got kind of annoyed with how you said, "someone took the kill but I forgot who it was". That sounds really lazy. Other than that, it was good.

I didn't take a screenshot of the guy who took the kill OK? >

Showing every single kill or battle footage is out of the qustion later on but I'll try to be fully descriptive of the ones that do get screencapped. The gameplay isn't going to be changing much and aside from lucky dodges, lucky hits or lucky criticals, there isn't a whole lot I can say about most battles.

[┌༼ຈل͜ຈ༽┘]

Mar 10, 2013 18:54:48 GMT -8 LuciferIX said:

AS much as I usually like the maneuverable types, in Fire Emblem, where if they die you lose them for the rest of the game, I definitely prefer having more with defense than speed. Even in playing the on on the Wii a couple nights ago restarting the level because one of the weak ones got killed was getting to be too annoying and slow and steady was preferred.

But you play this the way I played WoW. Analyzing every stat to know who, what, and how to build. So it's just the difference in play style I guess.

The problem is that 'defensive' units don't scale s much as the 'weak but hits fast and hard' type units. In the late game, atleast on Normal mode, almost every single unit will have more than enough defense that they don't care much for it. The defensive units will suffer because they usually have low speed. A unit needs only 4 more AS then the opponent to double them. The fast units usually end up far better in the late game.

Defensive units have their uses in harder modes. Radiant Dawn is a hard game so the defensive units will shine there, or at the very least, be useful for a lot longer.

As for analyzing stats, I'm only doing that for the LP. You can get away with using any unit you like in Normal mode.