My Mechanics List Part 7

10 Mechanics I’d Like To See In Future Installments List

# 5 - Indoor Maps

I’m going to start with indoor maps. One reoccurring trend among Fire Emblem games is for higher movement units to wind up being better than infantry units. I even noticed this problem which is why I talked about it in my “Ten Tips To Improve the Fire Emblem Series” list:

http://thecrusadergrant.blogspot.com/2015/11/ten-tips-to-improve-fire-emblem-2.html

http://thecrusadergrant.blogspot.com/2015/11/ten-tips-to-improve-fire-emblem-2_16.html

                 There’s a reason for this. Movement is usually considered to be the best stat in Fire Emblem since it lets units get from Point A to Point B faster in addition to letting them get access to more combat. Most Fire Emblem games don’t do much to balance the classes out, except for making some maps indoors. Since I’ve already talked about the indoor mechanic I thought I’d be lazy again and quote myself here:

“Bring back dismounting: As a concept I think that dismounting is a pretty nifty feature in nerfing mounted and flying units. By forcing said units to have 5 movement in certain maps you’ve effectively stripped them of their movement bonus. In the games where dismounting has been implemented (a.k.a FE’s 3 & 5) the units usually have to switch to swords as opposed to using a lance or an axe like they normally do. I don’t think this is necessary and I’m okay with letting these units be able to use their normal weaponry indoors. That being said, I think it would be helpful in nerfing said units. This comes with a caveat however since in order for dismounting to be effective you have to have a significant number of maps be indoors otherwise it won’t do its job properly.” (Source: See first “Ten Tips” link that I copy / pasted above)

                      The only difference now is that I’m okay with dismounted units being forced to use a different weapon from what they normally use. In both games where dismounting was present it was executed fairly well. While dismounting alone does not automatically make the unit balance in a Fire Emblem game great, it certainly does play a role in that. It’s no coincidence that the two games where it was present happen to have some of the best unit balance in the series. When a mechanic addresses a long standing problem with the series I think that should be sufficient enough reason to bring it back.

# 5b - Gaiden Chapters

                PLOT TWIST! The positive section of this list has another mechanic that should come back! Gaiden Chapters are a cool feature. I’ve always liked the idea of unlocking hidden chapters by fulfilling certain requirements that require the player to play differently. Whether that means beating the chapter faster, keeping a certain character alive or obtaining something. Gaiden Chapters do a great job of making players think ahead in the long term. If you know there’s an unlockable chapter ahead then you’re most likely going to play the preceding chapter differently because you want to unlock said gaiden chapter. That’s a good thing. Thinking ahead is something that strategy games should make the player do. The only issue to address is making sure that the player is aware of said requirement and that the requirement to unlock the chapter isn’t ridiculous (looking at you Hector Mode 19xx). I’m okay with games explicitly telling the player what the Gaiden Chapter requirements are so that the player won’t have to look them up in a strategy guide. Also the requirements need to require more effort of the player than simply marrying characters off too. Looking at you paralogues in Awakening and Fates.

10 Mechanics That Should Be Gone In Future Games

# 5 - Fog of War

               Fog of War is not a mechanic that I enjoy at all. The major problem I have with it is that it’s a mechanic that purposefully hides information from the player while giving the enemy no such limitation. The mechanic forces the player to turtle. After all, if you don’t know where the enemies are then how can you proceed confidently? You might end up walking into a trap and having to restart. It adds nothing to the strategy to the game and can punish the player for something that isn’t the player’s fault.

       Some people have pointed out that you can work around Fog of War with stuff like thieves and torches / torch staves. While this makes the mechanic more tolerable it kind of undermines the point. Fog of War gets even worse in a route map where there’s one random enemy hiding off in the corner. Some people have suggested that the mechanic would be better if enemies would be affected by fog of war too. I disagree. For starters it would mean that both the player and the enemy would spend the entire level crashing into each other instead of strategizing. As far as I can see Fog of War has relatively zero strategic merit and the series would be better off if the mechanic never came back.