Major Positive # 2: The Outstanding Base / Castle System: I really like Holy War’s castle / base of operations system. For starters, Holy War has one of the best arena systems in the series. You can’t abuse it due to the fact that it only has seven levels and you get to pick which weapons you want to have your unit wield when they go in. You can still get some good level-ups in and money, but you still have to earn it though.
Then there’s the Repair shop. I like the idea of having something in the player’s base that lets them repair weapons. Granted, this basically trivializes weapon durability, but it’s still a really cool concept. Having a nearby pawn shop is also convenient. I’m also glad there’s an augury that gives you some kind of hints about the status of your units relationships. It’s still a tad too vague for me, but hey at least something exists. That being said Old Hubba is totally better. If Holy War gets a remake Old Hubba should be that guy in the castle.
I have a lot of fun managing these character’s items due to how individualized everything is. The only game I can think of where item management is more fun is Thracia 776.
Other positives about Holy War are its village system. I like having a village that take multiple turns to destroy. These villages can give you tons of money too in addition to stat boosts (not counting rings). Not to mention most of them have cool things to say, whether its plot relevant information, game relevant information or that “nod, nod wink, wink” conversation that one villager gives you about Lachesis and Eldigan. I would like to see this come back in a future game.
I also LOVE this game’s stat boosters. Rather than having those lame + 2 / + 3’s this game gives you a MANLY + 5 in your stats (and it’s permanent too). I’d also like to see this come back as well. I love the fact that this game has secret events like Ardan’s Pursuit Ring or Lex’s Brave Axe or Seliph meeting the ghosts of Sigurd and Diadora (OH THE FEELS!). I’d like to see more of that in future titles too.
Other cool things about Holy War’s gameplay include the lover and sibling boosts to critical hits, the secret proto-support conversations where characters got stat boosts and extra weapons and the super cool weapon kill bonus.
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Before I forget there are some things that I feel Holy War deserves praise for. This game invented the weapon triangle system. I don’t think that very many people realize how huge of an impact that made on the series. The weapon triangle is now considered one of the core elements of the Fire Emblem series and it’s that one element that every game has to have. It would feel weird NOT to have it in a Fire Emblem game. That’s how important it is.
This game also invented the skill system. Skills like Luna and Sol made their debut here. This is the same system that Thracia 776, the Tellius games, Awakening and Fates built off of (and Sacred Stones to an extent). I love the skill system so for me knowing that Holy War invented the skill system is another huge positive.
This is also the first game to have individualized stat caps for each and every class. Prior to Holy War every unit had individualized caps. It was either a cap of 20 or a cap of 40. Holy War decided to make stat caps unique for each and every class. That’s another major change that I really enjoy.
Holy War also invented the myrmidon class. As I understand it, myrmidons are a popular class in the fandom so for those of you who love myrmidons you have Holy War to thank. Holy War was also the first game to make an unpromoted Wyvern Rider class. Prior to this game wyverns were usually a promoted class for pegasus knights. Gaiden was the first game to feature pegasus knights promoting to a falcon knight class, but it was Holy War that made an unpromoted Wyvern Rider class.
Holy War also invented Brave weapons. Prior to this game, there were no weapons that attacked consecutively. Gaiden has a sword listed as a Hero Sword, but it doesn’t say that said Hero Sword attacks consecutively.
Overall Summation: If I had to pick an element of Holy War’s that I felt was the weakest it would be the gameplay. There are some bad design decisions that even I’m not a fan of. Still though, I think there are some good things in its gameplay and many of the imbalances make it fun for me. I love how overpowered the Holy Weapons are and I love the second generation mechanic of this game. I also think this game deserves more love and praise than it gets for having a huge impact on the series. I mean, this game changed Fire Emblem forever, and it changed the series in a profoundly positive way and I appreciate that.
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