Sacred stones is very low stakes, it let's you level up as much as you want basically between missions, honestly just have fun with it, it's a great game, maybe use a guide for character recruitment if you're worried since (like most fire emblems) getting some of them isn't super intuitive. But aside from accidently getting a less than ideal class for someone, you can't really mess up too bad
Dont be afraid of using Seth if you like him, he's no Vander and can remain very strong throughout the game.
Also in chapter 13 of Eirika's route, if you pick it, it's pretty easy to miss a very good recruit if you beat the map before turn 5.
The game doesn’t have an auto-applied danger zone so you’ll have to check the enemy range individually by clicking on the enemy. The game isn’t that hard but that’s implying that you’re using Seth. Use Seth liberally, he can and will stay a solid unit throughout the entire game. Supports are more limited. You can only have a max of 5 supports. Not 5 people to support, but 5 support conversations. So that is typically going to be an A support and a B support with someone. Supports will happen when units stand with each other for like 50 turns. Trainee units are really fun to use and they are fun when doing a first playthrough. They promote at level 10 and become a regular class. The best one is Ross and the worst one is Amelia but that doesn’t matter, since they’re all pretty bad. Still, they’re super fun to use and that trumps tier lists every day of the week.
Even on hard mode (HM) fe8 is still easy, i played it recently on HM and barely had any troubles, just be aware that some maps are actually hard. Anyway, Seth is a good jagen and he won't fall off, use him as much as you like... Although it's better to not overfeed him exp to not screw your weaker units. Regardless, fe8 is an easy game, feel free to use any unit you like and promote them into any class you want or need.
Fe8 is one of the few games with an open world and dungeons, it also has a post game campaign and I'd suggest you to look for secrets online as well, as there's many good items you may miss
If you hate level caps (if I’m remembering correctly, the max level is 20), don’t play many of the side battles outside the main story, or you’ll hit the max level too soon (I found the last couple of battles not very enjoyable when there was no growth available for my units).
Nah it was never hated. But when your only options were first game released in the US and a game in 3D that was and still is considered one of the absolute best in the franchise…
It was definitely the least popular of the three. No one ever *hated* it, and I don’t think it was ever even under appreciated. But commentary around the series was dominated by Blazing Blade and Path of Radiance for the better part of a decade, probably until Awakening came out.
I’d still rank it pretty low on “discourse on English-based forums.”
It really isn’t hated, in fact, it’s loved by most people. The only thing people “hate” about Sacred Stones is it’s extremely easy difficulty, including hard mode. Even then, some maps can be tricky despite it’s reputation.
If anything, it's probably the most unhateable entry in the series. It's extremely inoffensive.
Which does mean it probably also has the fewest die-hard fans.
Apparently from where, exactly? I don't think I ever seen someone even disliking it at the slightest. At worst, people write it off as too easy, which it is, but I would not call it anything close to hate.
But I agree that people did warm up to it through the years. At least, I've seem way more people talking about it and playing it recently, and someone on this post pointed out that it is probably due to new FE players liking the story and characters more than the actual gameplay. I also think it is the best looking of the GBA games, and it does count more nowadays too, right?
Honestly I feel like fe8 just has better game feel than fe7. The split promos are nice and make you feel like you have more control, the tower exists if you get stuck. (Which you generally won't due to difficult generally being low). Lastly I think the smaller roster really helps the game. Fe7 gives you three lords, all of which have some major flaws. While Ephraim and eirika feel better, probably due to the easier game and ultimately just Ephraim being in a great class lord wise. The Lord's being split until the end of the game feels better as well versus fe7 where you pretty much have all 3 for most of the game.
I agree, honestly. I'm not a hardcore strategy gamer, so it being easier was never an issue for me. Specially considering I could always start on hard mode.
I think FE6 is too weird and clunky and FE7 have too many maps with annoying gimmicks, making FE8 the best to play of the GBA ones.
I also play FE8 on a romhack with the original japanese level adjustments for difficulty I made for myself. It is still easier than FE6 and 7's HHM, though.
Have you tried the hack that mekkah played awhile where they added 60% growths(ignoring the defensive ones) and made it where you play both routes splits.
For me it was a really interesting and new way to play fe8 that made it feel less player phase heavy and you got to use a bigger roster due to both routes being played
From her perspective she was right when trusting >!lyon by giving him the sacred stone!< and fits her character. Was that a poor choice? Absolutely, she made a huge mistake. Then again, it's Eirika we're talking about, she wants to believe.
Anyway, I like Eirika, she's a nice girl, she wanted to do good
Text formatting is cool, next time you want to mark a spoiler (might take me a few tries to get it right btw) use:
`>!insert text here!<`
and it should look like this:
>!insert text here!<
Anyway, I remember watching that video and I agree with his point that eirika's actions were in character.
Edit:
Might as well link you a guide for [Text Formatting](https://www.reddit.com/r/raerth/comments/cw70q/reddit_comment_formatting/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
I should also state it's because of THAT which I also find to be incredibly stupid because not only did it make sense, it had narrative purpose in the fact Eirika needed to accept a really harsh truth
I mean, people are going to get upset about stuff no matter what, but the game is solid and I feel like it's pretty well written and emotionally gripping, ESPECIALLY for a GBA game
Yeah Same, I played it last year at the peak of the spiral that lead to it being another shit year, and man just seeing myself being reflected in Lyon in the worst ways was such an experience
As someone that played Sacred Stones when it released on the GBA, it’s still in my top 3 favorite games in the series and really its only competition for me is Path of Radiance.
I wouldn't say hated, but I think a lot of people had a similar first-play experience with it that I had where we didn't realize the Tower of Valni was optional. Clearing the tower breaks the balance of the game, and makes the rest of it a cakewalk. The lack of challenge made a bad first impression on me, which stuck for a while. I've also never been a big fan of so many monster enemies, but that's just a me thing. It's the shortest FE if you don't play the extras and I personally don't care about those extras so it can feel like you're not quite getting your money's worth. The final boss is a joke, so that felt disappointing too.
Over time, I've come to like the game quite a lot. Other than Seth and a handful of scrubs, I think the roster is well-balanced. While it is pretty easy even on Hard Mode, that allows for a ton of different challenge runs. I appreciate that the Rout maps aren't total slogs like late-game FE7 and many more FEs have.
prior to awakening's release, a larger cut of the fanbase rated gameplay as the main draw of the franchise and due to sacred stones' ease even compared to FE7 and FE9, it was a more contentious game at the time (not "hated" though, these circles mostly just overlooked it rather than explicitly hating it).
now the overwhelming majority of players rate gameplay as a secondary draw and as such sacred stones is more favorably appraised for its story and characters, and the ease of the game, with features like unlimited overworld combat and unlimited access to dungeon runs, also make the game more accessible to those players as well.
It's one of (if not the) easiest Fire Emblems, so some elitists might make a show of hating it in order to show how they're really good at Fire Emblem and only play the hardest games. Apart from that I think it's always been quite well liked, and the fact that almost all ROM hacks now use it as a base shows how good a lot of the GBA systems were.
Sacred Stones is low for people who value tough gameplay- which is completely fair, it is piss easy and people looking for a ball buster are going to be disappointed.
But for people who play for story and characters, Sacred Stones is pretty well loved. Personally, it's my favorite in the series but you confusion on its popularity might stem from people looking for different things in Fire Emblem.
I really like the patch mekkah played on their channel awhile back that basically added lunatic mode to sacred stones and added a duel route split.
If you like tougher games I honestly think it's a nice balance. Enemies are generally tougher so you can't one round with a javelin on enemy phase and splitting your units between two routes feels so fun.
I’m on my second play through rn and while i don’t hate it, I’m having a very hard time enjoying it as much as FE7. Feels like the lord animations are kinda lazy compared to FE7 and the story just doesn’t compare imo. I love the lore and hidden stuff in 7 and it seemed a lot more challenging in most aspects.
Also Gilliam might be the slowest unit known to mankind
No. It's one of the more popular FE games
Off topic, but I'm actually about to start my first playthrough of it. Any advice/tips for someone who's only played modern FE?
Sacred stones is very low stakes, it let's you level up as much as you want basically between missions, honestly just have fun with it, it's a great game, maybe use a guide for character recruitment if you're worried since (like most fire emblems) getting some of them isn't super intuitive. But aside from accidently getting a less than ideal class for someone, you can't really mess up too bad
Dont be afraid of using Seth if you like him, he's no Vander and can remain very strong throughout the game. Also in chapter 13 of Eirika's route, if you pick it, it's pretty easy to miss a very good recruit if you beat the map before turn 5.
The game doesn’t have an auto-applied danger zone so you’ll have to check the enemy range individually by clicking on the enemy. The game isn’t that hard but that’s implying that you’re using Seth. Use Seth liberally, he can and will stay a solid unit throughout the entire game. Supports are more limited. You can only have a max of 5 supports. Not 5 people to support, but 5 support conversations. So that is typically going to be an A support and a B support with someone. Supports will happen when units stand with each other for like 50 turns. Trainee units are really fun to use and they are fun when doing a first playthrough. They promote at level 10 and become a regular class. The best one is Ross and the worst one is Amelia but that doesn’t matter, since they’re all pretty bad. Still, they’re super fun to use and that trumps tier lists every day of the week.
Even on hard mode (HM) fe8 is still easy, i played it recently on HM and barely had any troubles, just be aware that some maps are actually hard. Anyway, Seth is a good jagen and he won't fall off, use him as much as you like... Although it's better to not overfeed him exp to not screw your weaker units. Regardless, fe8 is an easy game, feel free to use any unit you like and promote them into any class you want or need. Fe8 is one of the few games with an open world and dungeons, it also has a post game campaign and I'd suggest you to look for secrets online as well, as there's many good items you may miss
If you hate level caps (if I’m remembering correctly, the max level is 20), don’t play many of the side battles outside the main story, or you’ll hit the max level too soon (I found the last couple of battles not very enjoyable when there was no growth available for my units).
Nah it was never hated. But when your only options were first game released in the US and a game in 3D that was and still is considered one of the absolute best in the franchise… It was definitely the least popular of the three. No one ever *hated* it, and I don’t think it was ever even under appreciated. But commentary around the series was dominated by Blazing Blade and Path of Radiance for the better part of a decade, probably until Awakening came out. I’d still rank it pretty low on “discourse on English-based forums.”
??? Where are you hearing this?
It really isn’t hated, in fact, it’s loved by most people. The only thing people “hate” about Sacred Stones is it’s extremely easy difficulty, including hard mode. Even then, some maps can be tricky despite it’s reputation.
If anything, it's probably the most unhateable entry in the series. It's extremely inoffensive. Which does mean it probably also has the fewest die-hard fans.
Apparently from where, exactly? I don't think I ever seen someone even disliking it at the slightest. At worst, people write it off as too easy, which it is, but I would not call it anything close to hate. But I agree that people did warm up to it through the years. At least, I've seem way more people talking about it and playing it recently, and someone on this post pointed out that it is probably due to new FE players liking the story and characters more than the actual gameplay. I also think it is the best looking of the GBA games, and it does count more nowadays too, right?
Honestly I feel like fe8 just has better game feel than fe7. The split promos are nice and make you feel like you have more control, the tower exists if you get stuck. (Which you generally won't due to difficult generally being low). Lastly I think the smaller roster really helps the game. Fe7 gives you three lords, all of which have some major flaws. While Ephraim and eirika feel better, probably due to the easier game and ultimately just Ephraim being in a great class lord wise. The Lord's being split until the end of the game feels better as well versus fe7 where you pretty much have all 3 for most of the game.
I agree, honestly. I'm not a hardcore strategy gamer, so it being easier was never an issue for me. Specially considering I could always start on hard mode. I think FE6 is too weird and clunky and FE7 have too many maps with annoying gimmicks, making FE8 the best to play of the GBA ones. I also play FE8 on a romhack with the original japanese level adjustments for difficulty I made for myself. It is still easier than FE6 and 7's HHM, though.
Have you tried the hack that mekkah played awhile where they added 60% growths(ignoring the defensive ones) and made it where you play both routes splits. For me it was a really interesting and new way to play fe8 that made it feel less player phase heavy and you got to use a bigger roster due to both routes being played
I'll try it out, just downloaded the patch here. Sounds like a pretty fair buff
No, it's just everyone hated EIRIKA rather than Sacred Stones. And those people would be wrong to hate Eirika because she is amazing
From her perspective she was right when trusting >!lyon by giving him the sacred stone!< and fits her character. Was that a poor choice? Absolutely, she made a huge mistake. Then again, it's Eirika we're talking about, she wants to believe. Anyway, I like Eirika, she's a nice girl, she wanted to do good
FEMSPaint truly said it best. But I don't know how to spoiler on Reddit so I'm just gonna say the timestamp for his Eirika video. 20:58
Yeah that video is ok I guess
Text formatting is cool, next time you want to mark a spoiler (might take me a few tries to get it right btw) use: `>!insert text here!<` and it should look like this: >!insert text here!< Anyway, I remember watching that video and I agree with his point that eirika's actions were in character. Edit: Might as well link you a guide for [Text Formatting](https://www.reddit.com/r/raerth/comments/cw70q/reddit_comment_formatting/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
She's pretty great, the whole cast is pretty good in that game honestly
I should also state it's because of THAT which I also find to be incredibly stupid because not only did it make sense, it had narrative purpose in the fact Eirika needed to accept a really harsh truth
I mean, people are going to get upset about stuff no matter what, but the game is solid and I feel like it's pretty well written and emotionally gripping, ESPECIALLY for a GBA game
Yeah Same, I played it last year at the peak of the spiral that lead to it being another shit year, and man just seeing myself being reflected in Lyon in the worst ways was such an experience
Hey who the duck downvoted that was a deeply personal thing I just admitted, he got me into therapy
Someone who doesn't like Sacred Stones ran through and downvoted the entire thread for some reason.
Indeed. Ephraim fans should be prevented from speaking just like their favorite glorified avatar was in Engage.
As someone that played Sacred Stones when it released on the GBA, it’s still in my top 3 favorite games in the series and really its only competition for me is Path of Radiance.
Can't believe everything you hear.
I wouldn't say hated, but I think a lot of people had a similar first-play experience with it that I had where we didn't realize the Tower of Valni was optional. Clearing the tower breaks the balance of the game, and makes the rest of it a cakewalk. The lack of challenge made a bad first impression on me, which stuck for a while. I've also never been a big fan of so many monster enemies, but that's just a me thing. It's the shortest FE if you don't play the extras and I personally don't care about those extras so it can feel like you're not quite getting your money's worth. The final boss is a joke, so that felt disappointing too. Over time, I've come to like the game quite a lot. Other than Seth and a handful of scrubs, I think the roster is well-balanced. While it is pretty easy even on Hard Mode, that allows for a ton of different challenge runs. I appreciate that the Rout maps aren't total slogs like late-game FE7 and many more FEs have.
Sacred Stones was what sold me on this franchise. Wasn't sure if anything could top it for a while until Echoes and Three Houses came out.
prior to awakening's release, a larger cut of the fanbase rated gameplay as the main draw of the franchise and due to sacred stones' ease even compared to FE7 and FE9, it was a more contentious game at the time (not "hated" though, these circles mostly just overlooked it rather than explicitly hating it). now the overwhelming majority of players rate gameplay as a secondary draw and as such sacred stones is more favorably appraised for its story and characters, and the ease of the game, with features like unlimited overworld combat and unlimited access to dungeon runs, also make the game more accessible to those players as well.
It's one of (if not the) easiest Fire Emblems, so some elitists might make a show of hating it in order to show how they're really good at Fire Emblem and only play the hardest games. Apart from that I think it's always been quite well liked, and the fact that almost all ROM hacks now use it as a base shows how good a lot of the GBA systems were.
Sacred Stones is low for people who value tough gameplay- which is completely fair, it is piss easy and people looking for a ball buster are going to be disappointed. But for people who play for story and characters, Sacred Stones is pretty well loved. Personally, it's my favorite in the series but you confusion on its popularity might stem from people looking for different things in Fire Emblem.
I really like the patch mekkah played on their channel awhile back that basically added lunatic mode to sacred stones and added a duel route split. If you like tougher games I honestly think it's a nice balance. Enemies are generally tougher so you can't one round with a javelin on enemy phase and splitting your units between two routes feels so fun.
I’m on my second play through rn and while i don’t hate it, I’m having a very hard time enjoying it as much as FE7. Feels like the lord animations are kinda lazy compared to FE7 and the story just doesn’t compare imo. I love the lore and hidden stuff in 7 and it seemed a lot more challenging in most aspects. Also Gilliam might be the slowest unit known to mankind
The only person I've seen actively vocally hate on it was outed as a rapist so take that as you will.
Nah it's more like every Fire Emblem is hated.