Easiest Fire Emblem title?

[King Robert]

As I've no knowledge of this RPG series (aside from what Smash Bros. has to offer), due to my low tolerance for games that have a ridiculously high difficulty (unless I had a cheat device, which sadly these days are no longer around as far as I've seen), I have to ask...what's the easiest Fire Emblem game that I should check out?

 

[Lord Kyuubi]

I suppose technically, the easiest one would be Awakening, due to Casual mode, which deactivates the series' well-known permadeath. Also being able to pair up your units broke the game kind of. Though if you wait around a bit for Fire Emblem If to come out, that has Phoenix mode which makes it even easier, specifically for new players as a sort of 'graduated commitment' based idea, I suspect.

To be honest with you, though, I wouldn't actually recommend Awakening. Sure, it's the easiest, but for the wrong reasons (and if we're totally honest here, it's really not that good on FE standards). The game I'd most recommend to anyone, newcomer or not, would be Path of Radiance, on the GameCube. On easy difficulty, you really shouldn't have any problems - the game gives you a gentle learning curve without feeling at all patronising or like it's giving you too much power. It doesn't impede the plot from getting going, either. Speaking of which, the plot initially seems simple, but it gets extremely interesting and deep. Definitely worth it. The characters are all great, as well. The gameplay's much better than anything before or since - Awakening's very much scaled down, and loses and couple of important features and mechanics, as well as picking up some pretty rough edges.

Now there is a bit of a problem, in that Path of Radiance is difficult to come by these days. And as a result, it tends to be extremely expensive. As a huge fan, I'd say it's worth it, but I understand that as you're not a fan (yet), you won't want to spend any great fortune on it just because I told you it's a priceless masterpiece, which it is. But if you search deep in the depths of the internet, and keep careful watch, you may find an affordable copy somewhere. I really can't recommend it enough - it's a fantastic game and story, definitely one of my all time favourite games.

This being said, if Path of Radiance really is just impossible to find these days, I suppose you could get Awakening instead, if you're desparate. It's not a bad game by any means, but in comparison to Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn, I find it very lackluster. Still, any Fire Emblem game is better than no Fire Emblem game, even if it is just Awakening.

Uh, so in summary, Path of Radiance is by far your best bet, if you can find a copy you can actually afford. After you've played that a couple of times at least, I'd then recommend getting Radiant Dawn, bearing in mind that it's a tricky one. Only get Awakening if you literally can't get Path of Radiance. Well, call me a fan, but that's my honest opinion.

 

[Zeb]

Awakening seems to be the no-brainer suggestion. Casual mode + Pair Up makes for a very easy game.

 

[Kelleo]

Yeah, Awakening is definitely the easiest, even on classic mode. I'm not even an expert at FE and I had no trouble with it.

 

[King Robert]

I suppose technically, the easiest one would be Awakening, due to Casual mode, which deactivates the series' well-known permadeath. Also being able to pair up your units broke the game kind of. Though if you wait around a bit for Fire Emblem If to come out, that has Phoenix mode which makes it even easier, specifically for new players as a sort of 'graduated commitment' based idea, I suspect.

To be honest with you, though, I wouldn't actually recommend Awakening. Sure, it's the easiest, but for the wrong reasons (and if we're totally honest here, it's really not that good on FE standards). The game I'd most recommend to anyone, newcomer or not, would be Path of Radiance, on the GameCube. On easy difficulty, you really shouldn't have any problems - the game gives you a gentle learning curve without feeling at all patronising or like it's giving you too much power. It doesn't impede the plot from getting going, either. Speaking of which, the plot initially seems simple, but it gets extremely interesting and deep. Definitely worth it. The characters are all great, as well. The gameplay's much better than anything before or since - Awakening's very much scaled down, and loses and couple of important features and mechanics, as well as picking up some pretty rough edges.

Now there is a bit of a problem, in that Path of Radiance is difficult to come by these days. And as a result, it tends to be extremely expensive. As a huge fan, I'd say it's worth it, but I understand that as you're not a fan (yet), you won't want to spend any great fortune on it just because I told you it's a priceless masterpiece, which it is. But if you search deep in the depths of the internet, and keep careful watch, you may find an affordable copy somewhere. I really can't recommend it enough - it's a fantastic game and story, definitely one of my all time favourite games.

This being said, if Path of Radiance really is just impossible to find these days, I suppose you could get Awakening instead, if you're desparate. It's not a bad game by any means, but in comparison to Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn, I find it very lackluster. Still, any Fire Emblem game is better than no Fire Emblem game, even if it is just Awakening.

Uh, so in summary, Path of Radiance is by far your best bet, if you can find a copy you can actually afford. After you've played that a couple of times at least, I'd then recommend getting Radiant Dawn, bearing in mind that it's a tricky one. Only get Awakening if you literally can't get Path of Radiance. Well, call me a fan, but that's my honest opinion.

Um...I'm not so good at reading long posts, so...could you summarize what you said?

 

[Lord Kyuubi]

Um...I'm not so good at reading long posts, so...could you summarize what you said?

Sorry, I have a tendency to ramble a bit. I'll try to summarise as best as possible.

So as the others said, Awakening is the easiest Fire Emblem, because of Casual mode and rather broken ability to Pair Up units. However, I still wouldn't recommend it because Path of Radiance on GameCube is a much better game overall, as well as offering a better introduction to the series. PoR eases you in better, with a nicer learning curve, and less dependance on the actual tutorials, as well as fewer contrived or convoluted mechanics. Awakening is easy because its mechanics can be abused, not because the game's actually nice to you.

The problem is that Path of Radiance is quite old now, and it's difficult to find a copy, particularly an affordable one. If it's at all possible to get PoR, like maybe on eBay, or something, I would say it's definitely the best FE game out there, as well as the best for introducing someone to the series. Awakening, while it can be made very easy by abusing certain mechanics, just isn't that great on FE standards. But if you literally can't get PoR, Awakening's probably still worth it.

There - that's sort of a summary. I hope I didn't ramble too much this time, I do have a tendency to do that, like probably even right now.

 

[King Robert]

Um...I'm not so good at reading long posts, so...could you summarize what you said?

Sorry, I have a tendency to ramble a bit. I'll try to summarise as best as possible.

So as the others said, Awakening is the easiest Fire Emblem, because of Casual mode and rather broken ability to Pair Up units. However, I still wouldn't recommend it because Path of Radiance on GameCube is a much better game overall, as well as offering a better introduction to the series. PoR eases you in better, with a nicer learning curve, and less dependance on the actual tutorials, as well as fewer contrived or convoluted mechanics. Awakening is easy because its mechanics can be abused, not because the game's actually nice to you.

The problem is that Path of Radiance is quite old now, and it's difficult to find a copy, particularly an affordable one. If it's at all possible to get PoR, like maybe on eBay, or something, I would say it's definitely the best FE game out there, as well as the best for introducing someone to the series. Awakening, while it can be made very easy by abusing certain mechanics, just isn't that great on FE standards. But if you literally can't get PoR, Awakening's probably still worth it.

There - that's sort of a summary. I hope I didn't ramble too much this time, I do have a tendency to do that, like probably even right now.

As I no longer own a regular Wii console, which means I have no way of playing GameCube games, Awakening will have to be my best choice.