Today: The Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, Ch. 25.
At last, the finale. We’re about to come face to face with the titular Shadow Dragon. As Marth stares him down, I’ll get a couple points of frustration at SD&BoL‘s mapmaking and general game design off my chest, and then it’s on to the surprisingly elegant conclusion.
Today: The Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, Ch. 24.
The penultimate chapter of SD&BoL takes us to the gates of Dolhr Keep, giving me time to reflect on the course of war, the purpose of death, and the limits of human endeavor.
… I swear this is mostly about game mechanics.
Today: The Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, Ch. 23.
This is the one where we win against Gharnef.
Today: The Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, Chs. 21–22.
Marth’s attack on Macedon makes me confront my biggest personal roadblock in the War of Shadows, my greatest opportunity to improve characters, and someone who will be an interesting character sometime down the road. Stay tuned for the point I make about enemies, though; it’s a keeper.
Today: The Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, Ch. 20.
And now, the most memorable and beloved character from SD&BoL. He’s a prominent figure in the resolution of the fourth act of the game and the fleshing out of the narrative purpose of the Fire Emblem. And this chapter is such a strong example of both good and bad map design that I’ve got to break up the tragedy to mention that, too.
Today: The Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, Chs. 18–19.
On the docket today, we return to job classes and the importance of NPC irony. Then it’s time to sink our teeth into the first tragic aspect of the latter acts of this RPG. In the process, it’s also time to be reminded once again that we can’t win against Gharnef.
Today: The Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, Chs. 16–17.
This is it: the part where I tell you the message I think SD&BoL is trying to communicate. I think it requires a little grounding in the structure of the five-act RPG and the course of the third act so far to get there, but then I hope you see what I mean. Because this same message is going to recur in every single Fire Emblem yet to come, and if you miss it you’re missing what I consider the key motif of the series.
Today: The Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, Ch. 15.
Following the conquest of Gra, Marth takes his first and more readily explicable detour into the Khadein territory. Here’s a word on speed mechanics, and a few more words on the most important villain in the story.
Reminder: you can’t win against Gharnef.
Today: The Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, Chs. 13–14.
With two nations seized, Marth’s army is about to go in for the hat trick. The welcome wagon on the shores of Gra is filled with ballisticians, units that I think are well worth a discussion. I’d also like to follow up on the last post’s experience point analysis, and—wait, have I not talked about music at all yet? At all? What have I been doing for fourteen chapters?
Today: The Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, Ch. 12.
As the game dumps yet another deluge of mediocre units on me in the space of a single chapter, I’d like to consider why it thinks I’m at all interested in them. (It’s for a good reason, really.) A couple brief stops to consider experience point gain and treasure chests, and we’re done with the game’s second act!
The View from Airsrock 