Justice Meted

Today: Fire Emblem Gaiden, Ch. 3: Alm from Zofia Castle to Desaix’s Fortress.

The fall of Desaix; the next in a long string of promotion opportunities.

The Reunion

Today: Fire Emblem Gaiden, Ch. 2: Zofia Harbor to Zofia Castle.

The second act of Gaiden draws to a close. We’re due for the obligatory arrows on a map, and then we turn to the overarching theme of the game as a whole. This is an important one, so pay close attention!

Passage by Sea

Today: Fire Emblem Gaiden, Ch. 2: the Zofia Seaways to Zofia Harbor.

Here’s a good time to consider Valentia’s construction by the craft of music, the art of RPG making, and the instant rejection of its predecessor’s signature move.

Another Departure

Today: Fire Emblem Gaiden, Ch. 2: the Priory at Novis to Novis Greatport.

Enter the second lead of the game. And with her, enter a whole boatload (quite literally) of magicians.

The Tyrant’s Retreat

Today: Fire Emblem Gaiden, Ch. 1: Zofia Castle.

It’s been too long since I fiddled around with colors on a map. Let me fix that as we wrap the first act of Gaiden. The concomitant thematic discussion is incoming, as is at least some mention of the musical score.

Deliverance

Today: Fire Emblem Gaiden, Ch. 1: Southern Zofia to the Deliverance Hideout.

My attempt to stretch the tiniest section of Gaiden over as many blog entries as possible continues. There are just so many design choices to nail down at the beginning of this one! Up for discussion this time are world maps and spooky, scary monsters.

Mila’s Wilds

Today: Fire Emblem Gaiden, Ch. 1: Thieves’ Shrine to the Southern Outpost.

This one’s about Gaiden downsizing, villager upsizing, and recruitment more-or-less-lateral-sizing. Gaiden, it seems, is a game of sizing.

From Simple Roots

Today: Fire Emblem Gaiden, Ch. 1: Ram Village to Ram Woods.

Gaiden is a Fire Emblem that needs a little bit of context in a different storytelling background, because its use of that background is a bit unusual among games in the series. Here’s that context. I hope you like comparative mythology.

Fire Emblem Gaiden

Today: We begin Fire Emblem Gaiden.

First off, we’re taking a brief pit stop to put the game in the context of its publication, or at least what little we know of it. And then I bet you’re just dying to know what a gaiden is, too.

The Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light: Closing Thoughts

Today: A few final thoughts on The Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light.

Come on, Malledus, you say. The dragon’s in the ground, the world is saved, Marth’s gone back to Altea, and there’s no more story to overanalyze. Tell us what you really think about the game. Enough analysis and excuses for ’90s gaming. Does it hold the same weight today that it did when it was released?

… The answer, in my view, is after the jump.