I let myself play Deal with Fire Emblem on the easiest mode possible and finally got me back into the game. When I first picked up Fire Emblem in 2010, a friend of mine told me that the only proper way to play was Classic mode with perma-death. Somehow I took it to heart and played every subsequent game ready to restart my console during every skirmish and story battle so I wouldn’t lose any of my friends. Due to unexpected upheavals in my personal life over the past few years, I’ve mostly put gaming on hold, though I continue to pick up new titles that I usually play. Including 5th Person: The KingI haven’t touched it yet and Deal with Fire Emblemit sat sealed in my cabinet for over a year.
I wanted to play Busy since I got my pre-ordered copy, but the thought of finding the best class for all my units and maxing out their stats and fighting back and forth to avoid getting killed on the battlefield was overwhelming. . It felt like a chore and not at all appealing to someone trying to get back into the game. But one day I decided to pop the cartridge into my Nintendo Switch and see if I could get anywhere. After being asked to choose a difficulty, I suppressed the nagging voice in my head, “If you’re not playing Eternal Death, are you even playing Fire Emblem?” As soon as I could, I chose Normal difficulty, the easiest option available, and Random mode, which removes units from combat instead of killing them outright once they are defeated.
When I started, I had no idea that I would finish the game, but I did – and I had a lot of fun. The biggest reason I kept playing was because I didn’t feel as stressed as I did when I was playing. Fates and Three Houses. I didn’t have to plan every move on the battlefield and look for other people’s class choices for their units, because a character that started out as a swordsman might do better as a Wyvern Knight. I didn’t have to take notes like I usually do for strategy games. The only information I looked up online was same-sex romance options for the protagonist of this episode. I felt like I was playing for fun, which is something I’ve never said about a Fire Emblem game.
In the grand scheme of things, having an internal conflict over game difficulty is really pretty stupid. But that’s a reflection of us being harder on ourselves than other people, because I would never judge others for how they want to play their game. Of course, it will feel better to win battles and matches on harder modes, but not every gaming experience should be difficult. It’s good to get started after years of playing for fun, to have some joy in your life and in my case. I might take it sometime Busy play again on Maddening difficulty, most likely on Random, since I’m freed from the shackles of eternal death. That’s a long way off, though—for now, I want to go through the titles I’ve missed out on over the past five years one by one. I started with the newest one in my collection, Chronicle of Eiyuden, as a long time Suikoden fan I am very excited to play. And, yes, I still take it easy on myself by playing on the lowest difficulty possible.
