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mikogalateaBecause the recent news on Fortune's Weave has put me on a Fire Emblem kick in general, and because I know I'm not likely to be able to play the new game until at least next year, I've been poking at some of the previous games in the meantime.
This has included starting to play Binding Blade for the first time! I'd been interested in that one for a long time, but it's only recently that I've, um, gotten the means to play it for myself. ^^; So far I'm up to the beginning of chapter 5.
Honestly, though? I'm not sure how much further progress I'll be able to make, because I'm finding this game quite hard in ways that aren't that much fun for me. Maybe I'm spoiled by all the games I played that came out after it, but I swear it's got a much steeper learning curve and takes much less time to get considerably more difficult. (Case in point: I came perilously close to losing Wade in chapter 2!) I'm chalking this difficulty up most to the hit rates being an absolute crapshoot (even moreso than Shadows of Valentia), the bosses feeling a tad overpowered, and enemy reinforcements suddenly appearing and immediately moving in the same turn. In other words, this game is hard in ways that feel borderline unfair to me.
I at least remember what I played of the Conquest side of Fates being challenging for the right reasons, so the challenges in question felt satisfying to overcome. Binding just feels more frustrating than anything, as if getting good outcomes relies too much on luck compared to using actual strategy.
What's not helping matters even beyond the gameplay is that Binding feels quite light on story and characterisation so far. I wonder if that improves later on? I swear I remember Blazing Blade and Sacred Stones being more character-driven and having more detailed storytelling than this, assuming I'm not putting those games on a nostalgia-tinted pedestal...
All that being said, I'm not necessarily going to give up on Binding forever at this early point. I do think I might rather poke at different FE games for a while, though. Blazing and Stones both look appealing on that front... as does Engage... and my Silver Snow run of Three Houses that's been stalled for years... and Shadow Dragon... possibly even starting over with Path of Radiance... I've certainly got a few options, in any case!
This has included starting to play Binding Blade for the first time! I'd been interested in that one for a long time, but it's only recently that I've, um, gotten the means to play it for myself. ^^; So far I'm up to the beginning of chapter 5.
Honestly, though? I'm not sure how much further progress I'll be able to make, because I'm finding this game quite hard in ways that aren't that much fun for me. Maybe I'm spoiled by all the games I played that came out after it, but I swear it's got a much steeper learning curve and takes much less time to get considerably more difficult. (Case in point: I came perilously close to losing Wade in chapter 2!) I'm chalking this difficulty up most to the hit rates being an absolute crapshoot (even moreso than Shadows of Valentia), the bosses feeling a tad overpowered, and enemy reinforcements suddenly appearing and immediately moving in the same turn. In other words, this game is hard in ways that feel borderline unfair to me.
I at least remember what I played of the Conquest side of Fates being challenging for the right reasons, so the challenges in question felt satisfying to overcome. Binding just feels more frustrating than anything, as if getting good outcomes relies too much on luck compared to using actual strategy.
What's not helping matters even beyond the gameplay is that Binding feels quite light on story and characterisation so far. I wonder if that improves later on? I swear I remember Blazing Blade and Sacred Stones being more character-driven and having more detailed storytelling than this, assuming I'm not putting those games on a nostalgia-tinted pedestal...
All that being said, I'm not necessarily going to give up on Binding forever at this early point. I do think I might rather poke at different FE games for a while, though. Blazing and Stones both look appealing on that front... as does Engage... and my Silver Snow run of Three Houses that's been stalled for years... and Shadow Dragon... possibly even starting over with Path of Radiance... I've certainly got a few options, in any case!
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Date: 2026-06-24 10:07 pm (UTC)And yeah, storywise...it's not bad, but you can tell the storytelling gets a lot richer come FE7. There are some good supports in FE6, but it can take forever to get them.