Chapter 17
Common Characteristics
- Both maps have the defined gimmick of Gra soldiers being weaker than Archanean soldiers. If the Gra soldiers aren’t killed then the player gets to recruit Sheema and Samson.
- Both maps have a thief that drops the Nosferatu tome if you kill him.
- Both maps have a village that gives a Seraph Robe if Marth visits it.
Which Version Designed This Map Better: The Remake
This one’s a close call since the similarities outweigh the differences. The only substantial change is that the remake provides Wyvern Knight reinforcements after the player enters certain places, like the yellow zone on the map or opening Sheema’s room. The Wyvern Knights definitely succeed at putting pressure on the player, incentivizing them to go faster. However, the original version still had a good turtle disincentive from the thief dropping the Nosferatu tome.
Overall Rating for Both Maps: Pretty Good
Maps the Original Did Better: 4
Maps the Remake Did Better: 8
Equally Designed Maps: 5
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Chapter 18
Common Characteristics
- Both maps feature the Wolfguard at the top of the map ready to attack the player.
- In both versions the player needs to get to the village (which has the Lifesphere) in order to call off the Wolfguard.
- Both versions have a thief pop out of the cave who threatens the village.
Which Version Designed This Map Better: Neither
I’m not the biggest fan of either version of this map. The Wolfguard…exist I guess? In both the original and in Maniac Mode of 12 you can warp Marth over to the village and the Wolfguard disappear. Not sure what to say about the combination of Armor Knights and Ballista. Like the Wolfguard they’re there, but it’s really nothing to write home about.
Overall Rating for Both Maps: Meh
Maps the Original Did Better: 4
Maps the Remake Did Better: 8
Equally Designed Maps: 6
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Chapter 19
Common Characteristics
- Both maps feature a visit where Roshea will join if visited
- Both maps feature a circle of forts around the seize square where enemies will ambush the player from.
Which Version Designed This Map Better: Neither
Both versions of this map have major issues. General Horace summed up my problems with the original version of this map:
“I really don't like this map, there are no enemies outside of the "square" with the boss in it, meaning you have to slog your way through half the map doing nothing.
Alternatively, just warp someone with the Miracle sword and the Orbs and watch all the enemies fall.” (Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/fireemblem/comments/4hvl4t/mystery_of_the_emblem_book_2_map_design_thread/)
The remake may have solved this problem by adding more enemies, which is a big improvement, but then it jumped the gun by sending enemy reinforcements WAY too soon which ended up incentivizing turtling as opposed to discouraging it. This forces the player to play slowly as the enemies on the map will attack the player from both the front and the back. This makes the map a slog to play through in its own right. I’ve also never liked the fortresses of death in both versions. The player fights through an army of cavaliers only to get a hoard of knights pouncing on them. Gosh I hate ambush spawns!
Overall Rating for Both Maps: Fail!
Maps the Original Did Better: 4
Maps the Remake Did Better: 8
Equally Designed Maps: 7
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Chapter 20
Common Characteristics
- Both versions feature a little gauntlet by Hardin where enemies will try sniping at the player with enemies that have ranged weaponry.
- Both versions feature Midia, who is trapped between two Armor Knights. If the player gets too close Hardin will order his men to kill her.
- Both versions feature a slew of mages with ballistic siege tomes that will bombard the player upon approach.
- Hardin fights with the Gradvius in both versions and can only be defeated by someone who has the Lightsphere in their inventory.
Which Version Designed This Map Better: The Original
Once again the remake jumps the gun and sends enemy reinforcements out too early. In Maniac Mode these enemies will show up by the time the player reaches the red line as shown in the map (WoD says this is only for Lunatic Mode, but they show up once the player reaches that line for Maniac Mode too). This is too early and considering how high their movement is they will catch up to the player really fast. There aren’t a whole lot of ways to deal with these reinforcements too because soon there will be an additional wave of them once the player reaches the yellow zone. I consider the early presence of these enemies to be a turtle incentive rather than a turtle disincentive.
That being said there is something the remake does better: It gives better treasures. In the original the treasure chests near Hardin are promotion items, which is stupid considering the fact that by this point in the game the players team should be consisting of high level promoted units. This translates into a ridiculous amount of money. In the remake they’re Brave Weapons and an Again Staff. Considering how powerful the enemies are in 12 those Brave weapons are life savers.
That being said I still think the remake’s version is a well enough designed map since it retained all the awesome elements from the original.
Overall Rating for the Original: Excellent
Overall Rating for the Remake: Decent
Maps the Original Did Better: 5
Maps the Remake Did Better: 8
Equally Designed Maps: 7
P.S. I found a remix of Hardin and Alvis’s theme from the FE 3 Book 2 Map Discussion Thread. You should check it out:
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Chapter 21
Common Characteristics
- Both versions do an excellent job of positioning mages with ballistic siege tomes next to high movement wyverns. This means that the player has to pay extra attention to how they position their units.
- Both versions feature a village containing the Starlight tome that’s being threatened by thieves
- Both versions feature 12 movement wyverns as enemy reinforcements
Which Version Designed This Map Better: The Remake
This is another example of a close call where both versions of this map are wonderfully designed but the remake gets the edge. Remember that little bit about how thieves are threatening the village containing the Starlight tome? In the remake those thieves are there from Turn 1 and there are three of them. The original version doesn’t start out with said thieves so there’s less urgency in getting over to the village. This is also another example of a map that benefitted from having stronger enemies in 12’s version. Even in Maniac Mode it’s significantly harder to get to those thieves than it is in the original version.
The one advantage of the original is the reinforcement placement of their wyverns. As far as I’m aware, the reinforcement spawn locations can’t be blocked off. In the remake the player can sit on the fort and prevent the wyvern reinforcement from showing up. The wyvern reinforcements, however, don’t show up until Turn 12 so it’s entirely possible to beat the chapter before they even arrive.
Overall Rating for the Remake: Excellent
Overall Rating for the Original: Pretty Good
Maps the Original Did Better: 5
Maps the Remake Did Better: 9
Equally Designed Maps: 7
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Chapter 22
Common Characteristics
- Both versions of this map feature a room that can be approached two ways, that’s full of barbarians / berserkers, dragons and mages.
- Both versions have treasure chests down at the bottom containing valuable stuff
Which Version Designed This Map Better: The Remake
The remake version of this map is the textbook example of why turtle disincentives are such an important part of a Fire Emblem chapter’s map design. From the first enemy phase on enemies show up behind and to the side of the player. Then the race is on! New enemies will continue to spawn until the player is either dead or the map has been beaten. There’s no in-between. The chapter continues to increase the pressure on the player with each new turn. Every enemy in front of the player acts as an obstacle in an attempt to slow the player down which further increases the pressure to play faster. Maybe I’m not doing it right, but by the time I reach the throne room I have to pull off some serious staff shenanigans or else I’m toast. This is what turtle disincentives are supposed to do! They pressure the player to play better and force the player to actually think. The original version is fine on its own merits, but it doesn’t hold a candle to the remake’s version.
Overall Rating for the Remake: Excellent
Overall Rating for the Original: Decent
Maps the Original Did Better: 5
Maps the Remake Did Better: 10
Equally Designed Maps: 7
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Chapter 23
Common Characteristics
- Both maps feature meteor mages off to the side and in front of Gharnef. The only way to deal with these mages is to move faster, be careful with the player’s unit positioning and kill whichever mages are within reach.
- Gharnef will get off his throne and attack the player in both versions once the player’s in range.
- Both versions feature dragon reinforcements that show up behind the player.
Which Version Designed This Map Better: The Remake
This is another example of a map’s quality improving due to the presence of stronger enemies. The meteor mages are more accurate in this version, which makes them more threatening. The dragon reinforcements also show up earlier, which makes them more effective as turtle disincentives. To be fair I’m not a fan of how many dragons initially appear in the remake’s version and how aggressive they are. Having that many dragons charge at the player all at once becomes a turtle incentive. Fortunately this is balanced out by the dragons that show up behind the player at an earlier turn than in the original version.
Gharnef being stronger is also another boon to the remake since it’s harder to kill him than in the original where a powered up Linde can easily destroy him in a single round. This means that the player will be stuck on that passage to the throne longer which works will when combined with the dragon reinforcements from down below.
Overall Rating for the Remake: Excellent
Overall Rating for the Original: Pretty Good
Maps the Original Did Better: 5
Maps the Remake Did Better: 11
Equally Designed Maps: 7
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Endgame
Common Characteristics
- Both versions of this map feature Nyna, Elice, Lena and Maria who have been brainwashed by Medeus. This is a brilliant design decision because no matter what the player does, they have to deal with this. Whether it’s recruiting them, killing them off, or doing a little bit of both the player has to respond to this. All of them are in Medeus’s range which makes recruitment more difficult to pull off and it forces the player to actually think.
- Both maps have the “circle fort” where dragon reinforcements show up around Medeus.
Which Version Designed This Map Better: The Remake
I don’t like either version of this map. It’s basically a long corridor that revolves around fighting dragons and killing Medeus. The strategy in both versions is a little too simple for my taste. That being said, the remake’s version sucks less. The original version makes the dumb decision to have no enemies show up until the player gets close to Medeus. Why? What strategic purpose does it serve? It just makes the map easy to pull off.
The remake provides actual enemies to fight before getting to the boss. The problem is that the map becomes a slog because the map shape basically screams “TURTLE ME!” to any player who doesn’t pull off any LTC shenanigans. There’s also the difference between the power of the two Medeus’s. SNES!Medeus is a joke. Marth can double attack him and if Marth pulls off a critical hit Medeus is screwed. DS!Medeus cannot be double attacked and can only be killed only by having Marth proc 2 critical hits. That’s a lot harder to beat. In fact, DS!Medeus is one of the strongest final bosses in the series. The only real competition I can think of is Paired Up Takumi in Conquest. That’s impressive. Most impressive. In the end both maps are failures, it’s just that the remake’s version is slightly less of a failure.
Overall Rating for Both Maps: Fail!
Final Map Comparison Tally
Maps the Original Did Better: 5
Maps the Remake Did Better: 12
Equally Designed Maps: 7
Winner: The Remake!
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Final Map Design Score for Fire Emblem 3 Book 2
Excellent: 4
Pretty Good: 6
Decent: 3
Meh: 6
Below Average: 1
Fail: 4
13 / 24 maps were rated “Decent” or better.
Map Design Score: 54 %
The Map Design Score for New Mystery of the Emblem So Far
Excellent: 7
Pretty Good: 3
Decent: 6
Meh: 4
Below Average: 0
Fail: 4
16 / 24 maps were rated “Decent” or Higher.
New Mystery of the Emblem’s Score: 67 % (The Prologue and Gaiden chapters have yet to be rated)
As a friendly reminder: This is NOT FE 12’s Final Score. The Prologue and Gaiden chapters will be rated and taken into account for 12’s final score. The reason why I calculated FE 12’s map design score right now is to prove a point. What point is that? Well you’ll see once the prologue and gaiden chapters get rated. It’s not going to be pretty. ;)
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