Chapter 3x
This is the only gaiden chapter in FE 12 that isn’t poorly designed. Here Wrys is threatened, which counts as a reason to get the player to play faster. The combination of Armor Knights and Archers at the start of the map works since Armor Knights will slow the player down while the Archers can attack from a distance behind them. Enemy reinforcements will show up on Turn 4, which further encourage the player to play faster. This map isn’t really short, which sets it apart from every other gaiden map since it can’t be beaten super quickly on a casual run.
Overall Rating: Pretty Good
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Chapter 6x
Every time I play this map I always have to 1 turn it. It’s so short that it’s practically begging to get 1 turned. I won’t hold that against the map. This map is so small that even if the player isn’t 1 turning it they’ll be beating it in under 5 turns easily. Caesar and Radd in theory help the map since the player has to beat it while not killing them, but I question whether they’re worth the effort or not. The map is too small which means that there isn’t very much room to maneuver around.
Overall Rating: Below Average
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Chapter 10x
So this map’s gimmick can be adequately described as “Where’s Roro?” (Apparently he decided to take Waldo’s place after Chuck Norris found Waldo). Basically the player has to figure out which Roro is the real one. If the player kills a fake Roro they’ll come back to life during the next turn. I like this idea but it means that only one battle is actually meaningful in the long run so the player could in theory choose to not attack the other Roros during the Player Phase.
Then there’s the “Where’s Roro?” gimmick. I don’t see this as having a positive effect on the gameplay for the following reasons. Let’s say that the player doesn’t know where the real Roro is. This gimmick ends up serving a similar function to Fog of War meaning that it’s only purpose is to intentionally hide information from the player, because….reasons. If the player does figure out where to find Roro then what was the point of hiding him in the first place?
Then there’s also the map’s length again. Chapter 10x is so small that it’s pretty easy for even a filthy casual like myself to beat it under 5 turns. Heck, if the player’s lucky they can 1 turn it by having My Unit 1 RKO the real Roro. Also, what purpose does Horace serve in this chapter?
Overall Rating: Fail!
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Chapter 13x
The first gaiden in Fire Emblem 12 to have Fog of War. Ugh! Fog of War is already a bad mechanic, but to eliminate torches and a thief’s ability to see further makes it even worse. In this game, each of the player’s units can only see two squares ahead. TWO SQUARES! Why? It’s also a rout map which is stupid. The rout objective does not work well with Fog of War.
Also, the unit positioning is...questionable at best. For example, why are there two ballista within reach of the player? I know that it’s Fog of War and that the player can’t see these ballista, but what’s the point of having them so close to the player? Like virtually all the gaiden maps the size is too small which means that it’s too easy to traverse the entire length of the map in no time.
Overall Rating: Fail!
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Chapter 16x
I wanted to like this map. I really did. It has two routes to approach it from and turtle disincentives in the form of enemy reinforcements. However, it’s short length means that reaching the main cluster of enemies is far too easy and the lack of enemies, and enemy diversity, tends to heavily favor sword users.
Then there’s Katarina’s recruitment. On the one hand, I like the fact that it requires more of the player than just talking to her once. Talking to her three times means that the player still has to deal with the rest of the enemies on the map including her while she tries to attack the player. In theory it should make the map harder to trivialize, but there’s just one problem: This relies on the player to actually recruit her. Personally I always recruit her, because having an extra staffbot on the team is welcome in a game where enemies are actually powerful but there are valid reasons to not use Katarina. If the player already has enough staff users on their team then her presence would feel superfluous and they might end up killing her. If that happens then the map loses a lot of its appeal and challenge.
Overall Rating: Below Average
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Chapter 20x
Screw this chapter! No seriously, SCREW THIS CHAPTER! Chapter 20x is either the worst, or one of the worst, designed maps of the series. For starters it has the FE 12 of Fog of War, which is a huge negative on its own. Then it made the horrific decision to add in Longbow Snipers and a boss with Meteor. Don’t get me wrong, Longbow Snipers and mages with Meteor are awesome when they’re done well. They can act as turtle disincentives and they force the player to carefully consider where they place their units. Fog of War negates this by removing the player’s ability to see where these snipers and meteor mages are and how big their attack range is.
In case this wasn’t bad enough, the map forces the player through narrow corridors that are inevitably in the path of the longbow snipers. It’s also not just 1 sniper, it’s often 2 which is even deadlier when you factor in the berserkers and armor knights on the map. This game becomes less about careful planning and more about being able to endure the ridiculousness the map tries to throw at the player.
Overall Rating: FAIL!
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New Mystery of the Emblem’s Final Map Design Score
- Excellent: 9
- Pretty Good: 4
- Decent: 7
- Meh: 5
- Below Average: 3
- Fail: 10
20 / 38 maps are Decently Designed or better, which gives Fire Emblem 12: New Mystery of the Emblem a 53 % Map Design Score.
Final Thoughts: FE 12’s score is a real shame. If the remake hadn’t made any new maps it would have the best map design in the series. FE 12 made a lengthy list of improvements on the original’s map design and the game benefited from that. 12 knew how to pressure the player at the right moments and the enemies were powerful even on Maniac Mode. Sadly, none of the care that went into the main story maps was present in most of the prologue or gaiden chapters. As a result most of them are not fun to play and they deserve all the crap that they get.
The original may have had weak sauce enemies, and its turtle disincentives could be lacking at times, but it ultimately got far more right than it got wrong. When it did have proper turtle disincentives they were on point. The enemy unit positioning could be good when it needed to be. Even though 12 has a 53 % score I’m still willing to bet that it’s going to be in the Top 5 when it comes to having the best map design of the series.
Mystery of the Emblem’s Map Design Score: 54 %
New Mystery of the Emblem’s Map Design Score: 53 %
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