Where To Start: Fire Emblem

[@Choops6969]

Opens his reccomend list with FE1. Bold. I love it.

[@ChrisTheFields]

I'm a man of interesting opinions. That much I can say.

[@AraiiarA]

"Three Houses plays more like a Persona game" Say no more, I am sold.

[@rerez]

Well this is without a doubt one of the most thorough and well thought out videos on Fire Emblem for beginners. It's a series I've never played enough of but always wanted to dive into. Seeing your suggestions of where to begin makes it much easier to start!

[@ChrisTheFields]

The idea was to be as thorough as possible. ;) Thanks for watching. Hope you enjoy it if you give it a shot.

[@rkla887]

Fire Emblem Echoes was my first FE game. I never heard of FE but one day I borrowed my cousin 3ds and the game was already inserted. 4hrs later I was hooked. Fire Emblem is a great series

[@DjaliGoatShow]

Fire Emblem 7 was my first, and still my favorite. Sunk it's teeth in me, and I needed more. Still would highly recommend to anyone!

[@tactless2061]

Me: Reccomends Fe 4 Chris: *Screaming in the Background*

[@ChrisTheFields]

I would never scream. Only silently and publicly judge.

[@yujiro424]

To me PoR into RD is the best way to go. PoR is a great starting point in terms of difficulty and story and RD has the perfect difficulty spike and is my personal favorite FE.

[@darksword6691]

I love RD. It was my first FE game.

[@leeartlee915]

I do not understand how people have enough time to play multiple games in a series like this. It’s like literally a week of your life for one series. If I was 13 again, sure, I could swing that. But as an adult, even if I didn’t have other things in my life, I just don’t have the stamina anymore.

[@yujiro424]

@@leeartlee915 By not having a life. I work my 50 hours a week and do the necessary life maintenance (eat, sleep, clean, etc.) Outside of that my time is used however I please. I don't know other people's situations so it could be different.

[@leeartlee915]

@@yujiro424 You work 50 hours a week… so what do you average you think playing video games then?

[@yujiro424]

@@leeartlee915 Depends on how into it I am. If I'm going hard at gaming I get 5 hours a day during the week and 15 on a day off. I have other hobbies so it isn't normally like that but it is when I do something like marathon a franchise. E.g. I once spent a week of vacation beating every main console Zelda game.

[@nishishi5850]

I'm really late, but I've Always wanted to play Fire emblem but have absolutely no idea where to start. This helped, thank you so much Chris!

[@NotLaqin]

Started with Three Houses because I only started playing RPGs on the switch.

[@crocworks]

My first FE game was Path of Radiance and it got me to love the series right away. It's still my favorite in the whole series (I've played everything from Genealogy onward to compare them to). I highly recommend PoR as a starting point... if you can find it for a good price. I just happened to find it for $5 at a flea market back in 2007, so I was real lucky back then. :)

[@needszeebs6942]

I played Radiant Dawn a bit a few years ago... I bought awakening as well but haven't played it yet! Really excited to get into the series, thanks for the informative video!

[@medalkingslime4844]

Good video for beginners. Only things I would change are noting that the FE community is weird and includes remakes in numbering and also maybe explaining a bit why some others aren't recommended for clarity. For anyone reading who's curious: FE2, FE4 and FE15 are also very non-representative of the rest of the series while FE5 and FE10 are continuations of previous games' stories. FE14/Fates is actually a game that I would recommend if someone was considering Awakening, but liked the characters/concept of Fates more. FE6 has Roy and a lot of people will wonder about why that isn't a good spot to start either... it's honestly just because it's really brutal for a first time player. There's little to no tutorial and the game ends early if you don't get all the Gaiden (secret) chapters. In addition, FE7 is a prequel to FE6 and retconned some things, so there's really no need to play 6 before 7.

[@WTCchan]

What a great video! You clearly put a ton of effort into it and it really shows!😊 Thank you so much!!

[@ChrisTheFields]

Thank you for watching. I hope it helped you, or just found it enlightening.

[@lizzytrip4560]

Personally my recommendations are Sacred Stones Awakening Three Houses

[@K.Marie119]

Chris: "If you have a 3DS that needs to be dusted off..." Me: Still carrying around an original NintendoDS because it has a slot for the GBA games I still play through. Yeah, I'm fully aware it's 2022. 😅

[@thomaskitsune4726]

I really like retro games and I am 17 years old. I don't care what people say about my taste.

[@KayderimGameplays]

Start the series with Thracia 776 if you're a masochist

[@notjx113]

Do physical ones count?

[@carltonpowell5313]

I started with 3 Houses And Echoes Then Fates Then Warriors And I’ve played all except the Jp exclusives

[@BravenTheHippo]

I started with Shadow Dragon, but dropped it when I got three houses and haven’t played it since, which is a shame cuz I did enjoy my time with the game even if it was only 4 or 5 chapters in. After obsessing over three houses, this year I finally started a new game, Echoes and am around half way through it. Hope I can beat it before Engage comes out but I’m lazy so who knows

[@bigdwicks7498]

FE7's tutorial is good for first-first timers. You can even skip tutorial by hopping straight to Eliwood-Hector mode, or do Lyn Hard Mode scrapping tutorial prompts.

[@pablomadrid6962]

Afaik first boot always makes you start Lyn-Normal, you cannot choose to skip it.

[@kentknightofcaelin4537]

@@pablomadrid6962 that's true, but it's not difficult to find save files online.

[@bestroyclap1550]

FE Shadows of Valentia was the first FE game i got to play and boy did i fall in love with this series, it’s sad not to see it recommended, all of my friends who i’ve got them to play it have ended up loving the series

[@Yarzu555]

While I always recommend 7 or 9, shadow dragon would also make a pretty decent option as well as its a pretty solid game all round (once you get used to the art).

[@ChrisTheFields]

I personally knew someone that started this series with Shadow Dragon, and both his reasons and some self reflection made me realize how good of a place it is to start with. The art is not my favorite, but the game underneath I think is very good.

[@darksword6691]

I started with what’s probably one of the worst choices to start with: Radiant Dawn. A sequel game, with different difficulty naming conventions, and a lot of split teams needing babying. But I managed to really love the game anyway, and have introduced many other people to it! (Just not at their first Fire Emblem game)

[@dumbassdude8372]

path of radiance is a great way to start this series and I think the tellius saga are the best fire emblems out there

[@cheesecheese6459]

I started with three houses and found it was good since it was so full of new things

[@CaptainStraya]

I guess most people are pretty happy starting with three houses seeing as its easily the best selling game in the series

[@Chris-cf2kp]

FE7 seems to be made by the same people who made Advance Wars for the GBA. I loved that game, haven't played FE yet though, but seems like I would have liked it just as much as a kid, and maybe still. You can easily emulate these games. I recognize how that can sometimes entail a nefarious context in how you acquire the roms, but I go that route for games I own, or that are near impossible to find now and it allows you to play them on your computer and even your phone.

[@tydalwave_]

What about FE6? that was my first one and still my favorite one

[@defsentry4299]

FE7 being on switch GBA selection made me pick it up. Loving it so far. Chapter 27

[@JoeBuk724]

Path of Radiance was where i started, prob still my favorite to this day!

[@joshuagabrielcatindig7607]

Option 2 all the way. Its THE Fire Emblem to me, the baseline for its siblings-to-be.

[@DoguiDougua]

Completely agree with you. I personally tried Sacred Stones before FE7 and I had a hard time enjoying the 10 chapters tutorial. FE7 is great and I liked it, but I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had played Sacred Stones after and not before.

[@ScytheJackal]

Chris: Awakening is one of the easier games. Lunatic + mode: Am I a joke to you?

[@nd35780]

I have two words for you...: Thracia 776

[@vozdenina342]

I started in Fates Weeabo edition, and was a chill road.

[@Foofalaf]

unrelated but whats your opinion on the persona games if you have played them

[@ChrisTheFields]

I've played through 3, 4, and 5 all the way through. I've played maybe about half of 1. I personally love them with 3 and 4 in particular both being some of my favorite games ever made.

[@theduker5926]

The correct answer is anything but Thracia 776

[@supervolcanobladerharris131]

17:26 -Sure. Maddening is so easy am I right?

[@ChrisTheFields]

Do you really think a beginner who is interested in trying this series is going to pick up Maddening for their first ever time with a Fire Emblem game?

[@supervolcanobladerharris131]

@@ChrisTheFields its not that. Its that you made it sound like the game itself was easy because of normal mode. A beginner wouldn't even be able to beat the mock battle.

[@ChrisTheFields]

@@supervolcanobladerharris131 Indeed. Because most anyone playing a new game for the first time will gravitate to whatever is the Normal/Default difficulty. Besides, describing a game as game as difficult because of the presence of a extra hard setting that was only added post launch of the game's release I think is a flawed metric.

[@supervolcanobladerharris131]

@@ChrisTheFields Tell that to the fire emblem community

[@leeartlee915]

So I have a modded 3DS with a bunch of English translated FE games that we never got…. which makes knowing where to start super intimidating.

[@kentknightofcaelin4537]

None of the japanese ones. They’re great games, but they're generally a bit outdated and clunky for a first-timer to get into.

[@leeartlee915]

@@kentknightofcaelin4537 Yeah, I figured that out the hard way. And they have battles advance in such a cheap way. You will wipe out all the units on the map and then suddenly you’ll get swarmed by much tougher units with them getting first strike. Where’s the strategy in that? Still, I’m a stubborn son of a bitch so I just kept plugging away. But the early games are not for the faint of heart. And I thought Warsong on the Sega Genesis was tough.

[@cliffjumper1984]

There has been fan translated fe1 out online to DL without patches for 20+ years! Not saying its good tho :p love your stuff

[@pikachupower0025]

Engage is decent since many are either team Three Houses or Team Engage. I personally enjoyed Engage with it being my first game

[@blackheart5842]

Technically Fire Emblem Heroes is my first fire emblem game and it's the reason I went to play all the others

[@JayEdelgardVT]

Might catch some flak but Fates. Specifically Birthright.

[@REaper-wi6xb]

From what I’ve heard, gameplay wise it’s good for newcomers

[@CamTheGalaxy]

Now that FE Engage is out, I would love to know where you think it falls, or even if it changes your stance on where Three Houses falls if you think this could simply be a new era of FE

[@ChrisTheFields]

Engage is sort of a weird edge case where I think you get more out of it the more Fire Emblem games you play beforehand. However, its gameplay and narrative structure is the closest the series has come back to its roots in a long time. I would be more willing to recommend Engage as a starting point over Three Houses due to the fact it isn't quite as experimental.

[@REaper-wi6xb]

In addition, engage has a really solid cast, great gameplay, AND introduces newcomers to a central protagonist from each game before it with emblems, and various side characters from each with the bond rings. You get a sneak peak of what each other game’s cast and story is like, and I’d imagine it would be cool to then go back to earlier entries and say “oh hey! It’s that guy!”, especially compared to heroes, which is why I think it’s a great starting point. Recently happened with a friend

[@cozyfairy]

my first fire emblem game was this mobile version 😅 and the second one was three houses

[@bes03c]

I tried Three Houses but didn't ever get to a battle before moving on. I beat Awakening though.

[@MiyaMam948]

What didn’t you like about it?

[@bes03c]

@@MiyaMam948 i eventually will go back to it, but it was a lot of standard rpg walking around and talking. I had to pick a faction or something. I didn't consciously drop the game, I just moved on to other games. I am sure it picked up later.

[@MrVisde]

Great list/suggestions. I’m a fan of tactical RPGs and have been playing FE when it’s been available on consoles…but I never owned a 3DS to experience that era of FE. Even today, there isn’t an easy way to play Awakenings without tracking down hardware…or delving into ROMs. I wish Nintendo would release those games for Switch, or remaster them.

[@reezuleanu1676]

I started out with the first 3 chapters of Awakening after discovering the series through smash bros, and thought "alright i like what this game is about, the strategy and relationships, imma buy three houses for my switch". I did and enjoyed the crap out of it and wanted more, but all other games in the franchise are so different yet seem familiar. Like you said, three houses is quite the game and the experience, and I wouldn't mind if this was the direction the franchise was to go forward, but I played an entire fire emblem game and yet all other games make me feel like a newcomer.

[@IdentityChrist]

Real pro gamers start with Tokyo Mirage Sessions

[@MoriBoita]

My first FE game was Heroes Then I tried 11 (But couldn't finish cuss my "ds-martphone" broke) Then I tried Fates (and I haven't finished yet because...) I'm playing 3H now, I shouldn't have started it (I was just seeing if it worked on my... Console...)but now I see myself a chapter away from finishing Silver Snow

[@wowwar2]

I never recommend anyone to play the first game of any series to anyone, Because the first games never have any of the QoL that new players are used to and can get frustrated. Especially cause the main obstacle for new players are the permadeath and inability to grind

[@Shadow-ov1iz]

Awakening is supposed to be EASY?! damn I suck at strategy games then. After finishing awakening I came here for more but hearing it was supposed to be easy I have started to doubt what kind of horrors lie ahead.

[@lsrrr3857]

Starting Awakening on Hard mode cuz I am a pretty experienced FE player is the single most regretted decision I had made in my experience of FE. Even FE4's convoluted systems didnt give me this much trouble in the beginning.

[@aishi_rei]

*When it comes to timelines, Tellius is the 1st about not Shadow Dragon. Play Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance and Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn first.*

[@KhumiSunguard]

FE7 tutorial isnt bad if you havent played other fire emblem games. But yeah the forced actions suck.

[@ChrisTheFields]

As someone who played this game first and is extremely patient, the tutorial isnt *that* bad. But I still empathize with the people who just get it, and get frustrated that they have to play the way the game wants.

[@joermcconnor7331]

Love fire emblem series but tend to like the older games more: The biggest challenge to get into / continue this series is that multiple games are on multiple consoles / devices (especially to get the best ones haha)

[@DeltaCain13]

Where to start? It’s blazing blade, start with blazing blade.

[@bog4612]

I started with Fates :'v

[@moodkap]

Calling FE7 one of the best games in the series? Based

[@lolailo2199]

Awakening

[@pont1695]

Start with FE4

[@extrakrispy81]

Pretty good picks, I'd say. Except maybe heroes. Heroes is a pretty bad rep for the series. Especially now. 3 years ago, maybe though.

[@MegaSeraphimon]

It's an alright series but I have to say the whole permadeath is really annoying. I like to chill and play games and that is hard to do while you are stressing over keeping characters alive because you need them latter on.

[@slenderMax28]

"if you have a WiiU lying around, you can get it on virtual console" . . . oh

[@ChrisTheFields]

The unfortunate reality regarding the passage of time.

[@marioluigijam3612]

Personally on the Fe7 front I would have to say it wouldn’t be a good starting point mainly because of some of the BS difficulty involving the black fang and the weak lords (lyn and eliwood). My recommendation would be the game I first beat FE8 mainly because it is so easy without relying on casual mode. Erika mode easy was how I started and frankly I think it’s the best place to start from a mechanics standpoint.

[@ChrisTheFields]

1. I think the argument that the Lords are weak in FE7 is a pretty narrow point. From the perspective of higher level play, the criteria most tierlists are ranked from, yeah Lyn and Eliwood are kind of mediocre. But from a first time player perspective, they will have to play Lyn mode, and by the time they get to Chapter 11, everyone who was playable in Lyn mod are at least 5 levels ahead of the curve. Lyn in particular would probably be around level 10 when she joins. That's a HUGE bump for her stats. Especially on Normal mode, I would be hard pressed to call her weak in that context. And that's not counting Kent, Sain, Matthew, Erk, the energy ring, etc which have also been contributing. 2. I've always disliked saying ____ is a good starting point for a series just because its one of the easier games. I remember when Fates came out and a lot of people said that Birthright was a great place to start Fire Emblem because it was one of the easiest Fire Emblem games at that point. I disagreed with this even back then because there's a list of other reasons I think it's a terrible place for a newcomer to start. But I digress. What I'm trying to say is that often the reason I hear for why Sacred Stones is a good starting point is just due to the fact its easy. I know they're plenty of other, well reasoned arguments in favor of Sacred Stones (it's why I still put it in the video) but it could just be me, but something just felt kind of off when I first played it. But that's also why I tried to make it as clear as possible that newcomers have plenty of options. Sacred Stones is a suitable game to start with. Just not a primary recommendation.

[@marioluigijam3612]

@@ChrisTheFields While I see your point with the lords, FE8 (in my opinion) would be better for a beginner to start with since they are most likely to train their lord character and in FE8 it is is my opinion it is easier to train Erika and Ephrium than it is to train Eliwood. Also what is so bad about the “this game is easy so it’s a good place to start?” Don’t we want people whom (drawing from my own experience here) see this series as super hard see that this series is not is not the try hard mega punishing series that it can be seen as by outsiders? At least for me while I did struggle with FE8, it was a eye openr that this series was not so mega brutal like I thought. Btw do you have a discord where we can continue this discussion?

[@ChrisTheFields]

@@marioluigijam3612 I think it's ok to recommend a game because it is easier, as long as it is not the only reason why its being brought up. But I also believe that its ok to start someone with a game that will challenge them more. After all, its because Fire Emblem is challenging that I believe the games are so fun to play. Overly punishing is a different story. But I feel that, at least for every game recommended in this video, they all have a reasonable level of challenge, even for someone that has limited experience with tactical games. Also while I do technically have a discord, I rarely ever use it. And I'm just not comfortable posting it in a public place like a KZbin comments section. Sorry.

[@marioluigijam3612]

@@ChrisTheFields That’s fine! Just different games suit different people. Your prefer the challenge and I don’t and as such we would both recommend different games to start.

[@gablerfunke8155]

By the time you made it through the disclaimer where you spent what felt like several minutes pointing out the obvious, I lost interest in the video.

[@markthacker9975]

We all know the best first game is smash. Come on guys

[@axolotl1777]

Play the 3 games on gba and quit

[@ninjakirby777]

Nah this has some really bad suggestions, fe 1 is basically unplayable, 7 is just worse than 8, awakening is ok but probably too complex for a first time player with all the skills and pair up and child unit stuff, feh is a terrible idea that game is way too complicated nowadays and three houses is really good for first timers, just based on the amount of new players who got into the series cause of it.

[@aviatinggamer9051]

I like three houses but damn I hate the anime slice of life bs the series is heading. I want some remakes for the switch now. Or a GBA port for the online service.

[@enymetouche2558]

Yeah, no. Start with Echoes.

[@kentknightofcaelin4537]

Please don't

[@enymetouche2558]

@@kentknightofcaelin4537 Please do, it's one of the best and it doesn't really matter if it's different.

[@Katie-hb8iq]

FE1 is the worst possible game for beginners. I am a veteran and even I can't stand the lack of quality of life in that game. It doesn't even show you your movements!!! Not a great way to start a video. If you actually find yourself watching this, I would recommend Sacred Stones on the GBA, Path of Radiance on the GameCube, Birthright on the 3DS, and Three Houses on the Switch. All of these games are of high quality and are considered easier/beginner friendly. You don't need to play them in order - they are totally unrelated. If you liked Path of Radiance, play Radiant Dawn on the Wii on EASY difficulty. It's not actually that easy for a beginner and this was a translation error. Do not play on Normal - it's actually Hard. If you liked Birthright, play Conquest. It's harder. There is no grinding. If you liked Conquest, play Engage. These are some of the more difficult games in the modern era. All of them don't really focus too much on story - the focus is really on Gameplay. If you liked Sacred Stones, you can really go anywhere from there - The Blazing Sword, Awakening, Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, etc. I mostly recommend passing on Shadow Dragon, New Mystery and Revelations. The first two are kind of hard, but I mostly don't think they are that fun. Revelations is a total mess. Lastly, a lot of people will say to play Awakening, but I don't think it's a particularly good game. Normal mode is very easy, and if you just want to play for the story and kooky characters, then I guess it's fine. But the map design is really bad, and Hard mode is infuriating with the ambush spawns. It's not a game I particularly enjoy going back to at all and I think the gameplay is weaker than pretty much all the other games. People will site that it "saved the franchise", but I think this had a lot more to do with marketing and the character designs over some of the DS entries being more appealing than the fact that it was actually a better game.