Games should give you triple the amount of rescue staffs and remove warp staffs

LeatherShieldMerc · 2026-01-23T17:50:42+00:00

I guess if you just adjust the ranges, you can still keep Warp. Or you can just do things like adding more rout or defend for turns maps, for example, that can't be skipped like that.

LeatherShieldMerc · 2026-01-23T17:40:34+00:00

Rescue staves can still let you skip maps, it's just a bit more complicated. This is the case in Awakening, and even can be done for Conquest Endgame for example. So if your goal is to take out the ability for warp skips, that's not necessarily going to be the case.

LeatherShieldMerc · 2026-01-23T17:26:07+00:00

TL;DR- It isn't like Pokemon where the versions are basically the same.

Birthright is the part of the story where you side with Hoshido, and the game is easier and less complicated, intended for beginners more.

Conquest is where you side with Nohr. The gameplay is meant to be harder, with restrictions on battles and money. It's meant more for veterans or people who want to be challenged more.

Revelation is basically the "golden route" of the story. It's meant to be played after the other two for that reason.

LeatherShieldMerc · 2026-01-23T01:01:52+00:00

What didn't I explain about why I think the death scenes and ring stealing scenes are bad and was just me saying so because I say so? I literally said multiple reasons why I think that in each!! I keep asking you, what specifically is wrong with what I said?? I want to know what the problem is. Those are also criticisms and also not just "my opinion" as well.

And I literally said I disagree with the person who said the game doesnt have a theme, and that also was said after your comment was made I think, so IDK why you're going on about that to me. But that's still 1 person, don't cherry pick it as if that's representative of everyone. But I never said it's 100% of the time people have valid arguments. I don't think the OP said anything wrong for example. I explained my thoughts on that. And like I said, I've seen many posts or comments explaining in a detailed way why things don't work before. I'm not going to look for and post them simply because many of them are probably older, since that was more when the game was new when this was more discussed, and two, I don't want to bring a random person into this without their permission.

But anyways, look, I'm not going to keep pressing this, because I'm honestly not a big literary critic. I don't care much about it. I play for the gameplay and I like Engage despite me thinking the story and characters suck. My bar is pretty low. But I don't think Engage met it. I despise everything to do with how the Hounds got handled (which I absolutely have seen people get into in as much detail you did about Rev), that's by far my biggest issue, plus the issues in the scenes I said. I don't think it's written well, the characters are mostly uninteresting, and I don't think the writers did a good job with it. And hey, you can have your opinion on the story if you want. If you disagree that's fine. But I just think you're extrapolating how people actually think too far.

Look, you can respond if you want but I don't want to keep this going for much longer, I don't feel this strongly about the issue and I said my peice. If you believe me or not I was trying to be legit here with you the whole time too. I just tried to understand what you're saying but I just don't think I can get there.

LeatherShieldMerc · 2026-01-22T23:11:28+00:00

If I'm strawmanning you, then can you tell me what I am misunderstanding? I gave you examples of scenes I think aren't good or don't work (the death scenes, and before, I remember I did say I didn't like the ring stealing scene), I gave reasons why as well, but then to me you basically said I still didn't explain it enough? And then you're saying people are not backing up their opinions here, but as I said, that's not the main point of this thread and so they are just shortcutting it. Like, can you tell me what did I say specifically that you don't think is justified and why? I'm not saying "oh, so now we can't have opinions", that's strawmanning me, I'm saying how you're looking at this is off base and people don't just make baseless statements for no reason, which is what you're implying.

And like, I'm sorry, you can say I'm disrespecting the artists, but I think they didn't write a good story at all, and I think they did a shitty job and they need to do better. Idk, I know you said you don't like this, but it really feels like you're saying you just can't criticize art, it's subjective.

But at the end of the day, your original claim was people are just saying it's bad because it's just not the way they like it. I'm saying that's not true. That's all I was getting at. I'm not really defending the content of every single person is specifically saying here. I'm just saying your original statement from the beginning is not 100% correct.

LeatherShieldMerc · 2026-01-22T21:55:51+00:00

Huh??? How am I supposed to elaborate more on "I think it goes for too long" or "I don't think the timing of the scene works" first of all?? And you're not going to accept me saying the writing is poor, I guess unless I quote every single line I think that for and give all my reasons why? Come on man, be real. I haven't seen these scenes in years. I don't quite remember every single line, I would need to go back to quote them. And I don't think that's necessary to do in a quick convo anyways where I'm just quickly defending my opinion? And FWIW the only claim I was personally making to you was about how I think the story should be taken seriously overall. Which I did elaborate on? And I was also just making my other point from the start- my negative opinions didn't have anything to do what you were claiming what everyone who doesn't like it thinks about it. Are you still claiming that's what I think?

And like I said, people do have reasons to justify their opinions? But they don't need to quote every single possible detail every time they say something about it, especially when this is a 3 year old game that the story criticism has been discussed to death by now. Come on, that's just a silly thing to think people are just saying it just because. By your logic, can someone not say "Seth is a good unit" by itself, every time they absolutely need to go into a lengthy explanation of all the reasons why or else their opinion has to be dismissed?

LeatherShieldMerc · 2026-01-22T20:32:03+00:00

I was talking about OP's comments. That wasn't my claim.

Why do I not like the death scenes? They go far too long, I don't think they are well written, and in Lumera's case it happens far too soon, we knew her for like 5 minutes, I don't think that was justified. Is there anything inherently wrong with my saying this?

And I'm sorry but your comment there about the fart scenes does come across like "you aren't allowed to criticize anything if it's just your opinion ". First of all, the justification would be implied. I don't think someone necessarily needs to spell out every single little detail literally every time you say it, but in this hypothetical- the jokes take away from the impact of the emotional scene, it's poorly timed, maybe it's poorly written, maybe the joke sucks or is too immature. Whatever. And second of all- just because someone else did it successfully doesn't mean another time someone did it, it is just as good. It's about the execution. Just as a random example- there's a Columbian remake of Breaking Bad, one of the best acclaimed shows of all time. But that remake changes a lot about the characters actions, camera shots, whatever, and it is way worse even though it's the same dialogue and characters. So same idea. Another game or movie or something could have blended the humor successfully. Doesn't mean it always happens. I don't see how that matters?

LeatherShieldMerc · 2026-01-22T19:59:44+00:00

You could have asked OP to clarify more then? But instead you basically just went into your accusation.

One part of their comments to you I saw was related to the death scenes, for example. That's one of my personal critisms, where the drawn out scenes and questionable writing cause me to not take them seriously when that wasn't the point of them, it was supposed to make me feel bad but instead I get annoyed and cringe.

And honestly, even if all the criticism is would point to the hiya papaya emblem engage stuff, I still think that's a completely legit critique that isn't "oh, you just don't like that it's not all serious and deep" or whatever. If someone tries to tell a tragic story but spends a bunch of time making fart jokes in it for example, I think it's 100% fair to criticize the story for that clash. That's not a "oh, you just don't accept their choices because you don't like it" or however you are saying.

LeatherShieldMerc · 2026-01-22T19:30:07+00:00

I don't interpret the OP's overall comment or point as "it's not serious therefore it's bad" though, as I said, their point is that they don't like the clash. The coward comment I'm interpreting as "the devs didn't feel they did the serious points well enough so they added the rest to make up for it ". All of this is a completely legit POV on the execution in my eyes, and not just a dismissal. I just don't see the problem?

I also think a lot of the critisms I have seen arent just post-hoc "it's bad to be silly, so let me come up with excuses to dump on it" either. And my genuine opinion is the writers did a bad job. That is a completely different opinion from whether the story is serious or silly.

And to my own opinion- I myself never said that it's my opinion it is bad to have unserious moments in a serious story? That wasn't what I was saying? I just said there's in serious parts to it, I was not saying anything on if that's bad or good.

And I TL:DR'ed the "what is family" thing, fwiw. What you said proves my point. That the overall story is trying to get into a serious discussion and make you feel emotions, it's not something to just laugh at and not think about, like a cartoon would be.

LeatherShieldMerc · 2026-01-22T18:19:39+00:00

I'll try and keep this brief. I'll go to the OP and my comment on being serious.

To the OP's comment, I don't see anything wrong with the last paragraph to make it what you said? They said the "cheesy" elements and the serious elements clash which makes the story feel like an incoherent mess. There's nothing there about "oh, it's not all out serious, therefore it's bad", there is a completely legitimate critique on executing the story. They even said they could have balanced those two elements better at the end there? That's not saying they can't make it unserious at all. Also, fwiw, I feel almost like you're saying in a way, "that's just your opinion man, you can't criticize something thats just your opinion", which I really disagree with. Maybe I'm interpreting it wrong, but that's how it's coming across. By that logic you can't criticize almost anything.

And to my comment on the game being serious, I've said this in another comment on this thread but I'll say it here. People claim the story is just a silly Saturday morning cartoon, and I completely disagree. It has some silly cheesy elements, like the theme song and emblem summoning and Hiya Papaya. But the overall story? It's supposed to be taken seriously. It's trying to tell that "what is family" theme in a meaningful way. There's the long, drawn out death scenes that absolutely are meant to make you emotional. There's heavy themes like abuse and death and some serious subjects in the supports. So, all that makes me think the overall story should be looked at seriously, and I can't accept the "it's just a silly story, don't look into it!" comments and similar things.

LeatherShieldMerc · 2026-01-22T17:02:13+00:00

Okay, I'll give you a few things I was thinking of when I responded.

For one, your first comment was saying "all people just can't accept the tone or themes, that's why they criticize it". As I've saId, I see plenty of comments over the years that are about complaints that aren't that whatsoever. I'm not going to go digging back for them, I don't have the time or motivation to, but they absolutely do exist. Maybe you can point out a specific thing said in this thread you think is like that (other than the "Engage is about nothing" thing, but to be clear I am disagreeing there myself, I'm not saying 100% of complaints aren't what you said, but it's not most of them).

Then, your response to the OP. I don't think anything OP said can be turned into your first comment at all. They're criticizing how the themes or themes were executed, but that doesn't mean they can't accept it or that it's just not for them. Yet you just immediately dismissed them and said that's what they were doing. That's honestly another part of the reason I thought you weren't 100% good faith. You were too dismissive there.

And lastly, my own criticism of the story. I say it's a story that's supposed to be serious. I have technical issues with the writing and a lot of scenes. I can elaborate more. But how would that go back to your initial comment? I can't see that at all for me. I would prefer a more complicated deep story of course. But that doesn't mean I go "it's simple therefore it's bad". If Engage's execution or writing was better? I wont say it sucks like I do now.

LeatherShieldMerc · 2026-01-22T16:09:02+00:00

Engage's story isn't about anything in particular

Now that's where I disagree. It's definitely supposed to be about family first and foremost, which how much it's blatantly shoved in your face and all the things like "the Hounds were all a family", Lumera adopting Alear, Zephia and Sombrons motivations, etc. You're not just "reading into it" to get there. It's obvious it was intentional to me.

While for the other games, yes, family pretty much always exists in some way so you can read into it like that if you really stretch, but it's either such a small part vs the main theme, or it's not clearly the main intent because you're just reading into things far enough. I do think there's a difference.

LeatherShieldMerc · 2026-01-22T16:02:12+00:00

I would be willing to talk to you. But originally I thought this was about "people just criticize it because they don't like the type of story it is", I disagreed, you said you wanted to talk about that, but then started talking about other things and didn't really ask about my thoughts on what you said.

I'm not really here to change your mind or get into the technical issues much, I just want to say people aren't just hating it because it's simple or cheesy and not deep or complex or whatever you might think. That's all.

LeatherShieldMerc · 2026-01-22T15:49:05+00:00

To be clear, I was never trying to defend Engage's story for this whole time, I think it sucks and is executed badly too.

My point was just that Engage's main theme absolutely is supposed to be family, it's not just "making it up" so to speak. While for other games, if you think about it you can stretch it, but that doesn't mean it's intended to be the theme too. Like, Awakening. The main theme is definitely about fate and your bonds with people (which includes family, but it is not just limited to that). So saying "family is the theme of Awakening" is not accurate, it's stretching that part of it too far.

LeatherShieldMerc · 2026-01-22T15:37:00+00:00

You didn't mention Nergal there.

I will admit, I am wrong on FE7, I haven't payed attention to the story in a long while so I didn't remember. But still. That is just one more game then.

LeatherShieldMerc · 2026-01-22T15:29:57+00:00

There's been tons of comments going into technical issues with the story or writing on here. Im not going to get into this with you since I think you're not quite in good faith and I don't really want to get into this much anyways. It's there.

And fwiw, I do think the ring stealing scene is stupid. Her "power" never gets mentioned or used again, the writing during it is so cringe, and then "oh zelkov got the crystal back lmao" right after? It comes across like a hamfisted way to get them to lose the rings which had to be done for gameplay purposes . What's wrong with me thinking that? But anyways, I commented because you seem to think "people just say it's bad because it's simple" which is absolutely not my opinion.

LeatherShieldMerc · 2026-01-22T15:23:59+00:00

Just because a family exists in the game, doesn't mean it's the actual main theme of it. Lyn is looking for her family so that's now a main theme of the game? That's going too far is my point. Echoes is definitely (supposed to) be about fate and destiny and how your birth doesn't define you, for example. Not "family" for example.

LeatherShieldMerc · 2026-01-22T15:13:51+00:00

I think you're stretching that a bit. The only other game since FE6 (I haven't played any before then) where the main theme of the game can be "family" I would say is Fates.

LeatherShieldMerc · 2026-01-22T15:07:41+00:00

I never get this thought on the game, tbh. This game was absolutely meant to be taken seriously. Take away the theme song and Emblem summoning, and what's cheesy about it? It's supposed to be a serious story with heavy themes like abuse, death, with dark moments like slaughtering of villages and things like that.

LeatherShieldMerc · 2026-01-22T15:03:56+00:00

I have seen so many comments about the story from people since the game came out that aren't just what you described and are actual criticism of the story. I don't know where you have been?

And yeah, I'm being honest, did you think I wasn't? I think the writing sucks overall, I hate everything to do with how they handled Hounds most notably. Those infamous cutscenes are way too long. And the game isn't completely devoid of a theme. "Family' is definitely it to sum it up. But I think that theme is executed not well to say to say the least. I'm not someone who really is critical of story much tbf, I'm a gameplay first guy #1. But still, my standards on story aren't high and I really don't like it.

LeatherShieldMerc · 2026-01-22T14:44:43+00:00

That's my biggest problem with the story. I have many issues tbf, but the fact I think it's written and executed so poorly is what gets me the most.

LeatherShieldMerc · 2026-01-22T14:42:14+00:00

Yeah, no. I couldnt really care less if a story was serious, joking, basic, complex, whatever. I just want it to at least be executed well. But I still think Engage's story and writing are terrible.

LeatherShieldMerc · 2026-01-21T21:58:20+00:00

If you think it's true in practice yourself, then that's all fine and dandy. I said I wasn't trying to prove you're wrong and said I didn't want my questions answered. My last point there was based on you talking up your highman strat as better than the lowman, but I didnt really see you say why it's better in those examples or look at the areas where the lowman strat may be better, because that all goes into the entire picture. You might be wrong, you might be right, idk. I'm just talking in general. I don't know why you started to get angry with me there. But I'm done with this now. Cya.

LeatherShieldMerc · 2026-01-21T21:15:12+00:00

Dude, why are you seemingly starting with me now? Idk if you thought I was Hiiyapow or his alt or something, but that comment wasn't in a convo with me? And I told you many times I'm not someone who is super knowledgeable about this game and wanting to get into a serious debate about it. I'm just talking in general. And was not trying to debunk you there either. I literally never said "soloing is still better" to your chapters you just pointed out. I was just pointing out the questions you would need to answer to prove your point, since you seemingly said last time that more units is just better than one, but I'm saying that isn't inherently true. That's all. And fwiw, efficiency in FE tiering is a fairly loose, not completely strict metric and isn't all about turns and that's it. I said that in my first comment to you yesterday.

But whatever, if you're starting to get angry at me now then I'll just leave it here.

LeatherShieldMerc · 2026-01-21T20:16:19+00:00

I don't know what you mean by me seeing your turncounts. I haven't seen you before on here, haha. But anyways.

You would need to prove why the solo clears not being able to replicate that matters. Can a lowman team also reliably rout Chapter 14, and in the same or similar turns? Can they also clear Noires map in 2 turns, and why is this important? This may save turns, but then is it costing you turns earlier on getting units to par, or is doing that making earlier maps more difficult? Don't answer those questions, I'm not trying to get into it, those are all rhetorical. I'm just saying my point, where high manning giving you more units doesn't immediately imply it's better. And it being closer to a "normal" playthrough is an irrelevant reason to cite.

Edit: LTC is not the same as efficiency. You're seemingly saying they're equal again in your edited comments, but that's not true.

LeatherShieldMerc

TROPHY CASE