Apparently I cannot go too long without posting a playthrough, otherwise I go into withdrawal. And so now we jump into Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon, a remark of the very first FE game starring Marth.
As typical for my playthroughs, you need no knowledge of the Fire Emblem series or Shadow Dragon in particular in order to read along, make suggestions, and enjoy. Mechanical basics will be explained as necessary to make suggestions, otherwise sit back and enjoy.
What's a Fire Emblem and/or a Shadow Dragon?
If you're not familiar with Fire Emblem, take a look in the spoiler for a quick overview about the series. The second spoiler box also contains some information specifically about Shadow Dragon. Otherwise, feel free to skip to the next part.
Fire Emblem is a turn-based strategy RPG made by Intelligent Systems and Nintendo. It's been around since the days of the original NES back in Japan, though it was first brought over to the Western world with the 7th game which was released on the GBA. The games take place in many different worlds, but all of them are similar to fairly standard western fantasy worlds, with knights, kingdoms, and magic. Typically, there will be a main "Lord" character who is the Main Character for a given game, and the rest of the units comprise a small, personal army of his for achieving some purpose, usually a destruction of some kind of evil being.
Where Fire Emblem really shines as a series is its mechanics. The player (either as a complete 4th wall entity or via an in-game character avatar) must guide the Lord and his units to victory by achieving certain objectives. Different characters in the game have various classes, and therefore strengths and weaknesses, that can be used to maximum benefit. The main difference between FE and a more traditional JRPG is that the party size is much larger, and the game is broken up into chapters where each chapter is one large battle. Within the battle, there are many enemies on the field, and individual combats are more simplified, with a single character attacking a certain enemy at a given time. Often, characters who die in combat are permanently dead and may not join again in later chapters, so you really need to develop good tactics and keep your team alive!
If you'd like to learn more about Fire Emblem or discuss the series, we have a thread for that here in PokéBeach's Long Term Topics section.
Shadow Dragon is the 11th game in the series, released for the Nintendo DS. It is actually a remake of the very first Fire Emblem made for the NES, Dark Dragon of Sword and Light. As the first FE game in the series, this game was the first to introduce the original characters and FE style gameplay, through the series has gone through many changes over the years.
The goal of SD is mostly to bring that original game back to life with some enhancements to make it a bit more palatable to a modern audience, just like how Pokémon FRLG updated the original RB. In addition to updated graphics, SD's enhancements include promotions, forging, the weapon triangle, and gaiden (side-story) chapters. SD also was the first game to introduce the concept of reclassing characters into different classes.
However, the plot and characters of SD mostly remain the same as the original. As such, they're pretty basic, especially compared to later entries. For example, there are no support dialogues or paired endings. Many non-plot characters don't contribute very much outside of their fighting ability. For this reason, I had a really hard time getting into the game when I first played it. However, I've since learned to appreciate it a lot since then, since it offers some pretty awesome gameplay. I'll be making the story significantly sillier with my playthrough anyway.
The goal of SD is mostly to bring that original game back to life with some enhancements to make it a bit more palatable to a modern audience, just like how Pokémon FRLG updated the original RB. In addition to updated graphics, SD's enhancements include promotions, forging, the weapon triangle, and gaiden (side-story) chapters. SD also was the first game to introduce the concept of reclassing characters into different classes.
However, the plot and characters of SD mostly remain the same as the original. As such, they're pretty basic, especially compared to later entries. For example, there are no support dialogues or paired endings. Many non-plot characters don't contribute very much outside of their fighting ability. For this reason, I had a really hard time getting into the game when I first played it. However, I've since learned to appreciate it a lot since then, since it offers some pretty awesome gameplay. I'll be making the story significantly sillier with my playthrough anyway.
Choose My Team!
Here's our final roster!
Marth - Green778
Gordin - tgk
Caeda - Palutena
Ogma - Tails
Lena - Celever
Navarre - silversilent
Hardin - bbninjas
Wolf - keeper
Wendell - Vom
Minerva - Athena
Linde - PMJ
Tiki - scattered mind
NPCs:
Camus - Camo
Nyna - TT
Malledus - BV
Gharnef - IE
Michalis - Mora
Medeus - DNA
The original CMT section is in the spoiler below for posterity:
Before I even begin the playthrough, I will need your help making a team!
Not all characters join at the beginning of the game, but we will be aiming for a permanent team of 12 characters. Marth is the only character that is forced. The other 11 characters we will be playing with should be chosen from the remaining cast, a whopping 58 total available characters.
This is a LOT of characters. So many characters that there was no way I would be reasonably able to make a fancy image of them like I did for FE:A, and most of them are so uninteresting I don't have much to say about them anyway. >_> So, instead, I just made a list with a bit of an introduction to each character. Most introductions are snarky. Each character's name contains a link to a picture of that character. The popular/main characters have official artwork; other characters just get a link to a picture of their in-game mug.
In case the entire cast is too much for you, I have bolded the names of the characters that I personally think would be good to choose. These characters are either plot important, interesting in some way, particularly useful, or just characters I like. So, that may help slim down your choices a bit. It's still 23 different characters to choose from, so lot's of options even in just that limited list.
Each person may submit up to 11 characters from this list to be in the Playthrough! You should assign Member names to everyone you submit as well, and also suggest a member to be Marth! Since there is no Avatar/MU for this game, I also don't have an assigned character, so please suggest me for a character too!
Post your own ideas, and "Like" the posts of those people who post character/member suggestions that you like. The final team will be chosen from the public submissions roughly based on popularity (most posts and like).
Keep in mind that characters NOT chosen to be used will be killed off. This is mostly so we can access the Gaiden chapters scattered throughout the game.
There are also some enemies/NPCs that can be assigned to members as well:
Nyna: Princess and Heir of Archanea. She's a fairly major NPC that travels with Marth but does not fight.
Malledus: Old guy who travels with Marth but doesn't fight.
Camus: Enemy leader of the Sable Knights of Grust. Loyal to a fault.
Gharnef: Super creepy old Dark Mage guy. Recurring enemy.
Michalis: Prince of Macedon and older brother of Minerva. Kills his father and other assorted Bad Things.
Medeus: Earth Dragon, leader of Dolhr, and major baddy of the entire game.
Not all characters join at the beginning of the game, but we will be aiming for a permanent team of 12 characters. Marth is the only character that is forced. The other 11 characters we will be playing with should be chosen from the remaining cast, a whopping 58 total available characters.
This is a LOT of characters. So many characters that there was no way I would be reasonably able to make a fancy image of them like I did for FE:A, and most of them are so uninteresting I don't have much to say about them anyway. >_> So, instead, I just made a list with a bit of an introduction to each character. Most introductions are snarky. Each character's name contains a link to a picture of that character. The popular/main characters have official artwork; other characters just get a link to a picture of their in-game mug.
In case the entire cast is too much for you, I have bolded the names of the characters that I personally think would be good to choose. These characters are either plot important, interesting in some way, particularly useful, or just characters I like. So, that may help slim down your choices a bit. It's still 23 different characters to choose from, so lot's of options even in just that limited list.
Marth - Starting Class: Lord (cannot reclass)
The Main Lord of the game. We have to use him, no matter how boring he is. Special Weapon - Rapier
Frey - Starting Class: Cavalier
He, uh, has purple hair and a beard. Remake only character.
Abel - Starting Class: Cavalier
The Green Cavalier of the cav duo. Friends with Cain.
Cain - Starting Class: Cavalier
The Green Cavalier of the cav duo. Friends with Abel.
Jagen - Starting Class: Paladin (promoted)
The origin of the Jagen stereotype. Effectively useless. We're not using him even if you vote for him.
Gordin - Starting Class: Archer
Cute little green haired kid. He comes early but has poor bases/growths.
Draug - Starting Class: Knight
Green hair and a stern expression. Supposed to be a tank but he has poor Def, so...
Norne - Starting Class: Archer
Remake only character. Can only recruit if 4 of less of the above characters are still alive after the prologue.
Caeda - Starting Class: Pegasus Knight
The princess of Talys and one of the few characters that gets development in the game. Special Weapon - Wing Spear
Wrys - Starting Class: Curate
Old bald guy. Horrible growths.
Ogma - Starting Class: Mercenary
Ex-Gladiator turned Mercenary. He's Princess Caeda's bodyguard.
Barst - Starting Class: Fighter
One of the 3 faceless Fighters you get in Ch2. Arguably the best of the bunch.
Bord - Starting Class: Fighter
One of the 3 faceless Fighters you get in Ch2.
Cord - Starting Class: Fighter
One of the 3 faceless Fighters you get in Ch2.
Castor - Starting Class: Hunter
Needs medicine for his mom. This is the only personality he has. Hunters are like Archers but better.
Darros - Starting Class: Pirate
He's a pirate that doesn't want to be a pirate. Pirates are like Fighters but with a different promotion.
Julian - Starting Class: Thief (cannot reclass)
Has the hots for Lena. Not really useful in combat, but can open chests and doors and stuff.
Lena - Starting Class: Cleric
A noble lady who lives as a cleric. Her most notable feature is being much better than Wrys at everything.
Navarre - Starting Class: Myrmidon
A world-famous mercenary. Kind of a stereotypical lone wolf guy.
Merric - Starting Class: Mage
A noble from Altea and a prized student of a famous magic academy. Wielder of the tome Excaliber.
Matthis - Starting Class: Cavalier
The brother of Lena. Spineless, boring, and less useful than most other cavs.
Hardin - Starting Class: Cavalier
Leader of the country Aurelia and protector of Princess Nyna from Archanea.
Wolf - Starting Class: Horseman (promoted)
An Aurelian Knight that fights under Hardin, leader of the Wolfguard.
Sedgar - Starting Class: Horseman (promoted)
An Aurelian Knight that fights under Hardin, second in command of the Wolfguard.
Roshea - Starting Class: Cavalier
An Aurelian Knight that fights under Hardin.
Vyland - Starting Class: Cavalier
An Aurelian Knight that fights under Hardin.
Wendell - Starting Class: Sage (promoted)
A sage of Khadein, Merric's teacher.
Rickard - Starting Class: Thief (cannot reclass)
A kid thief that looks up to Julian. Even less suited to combat than Julian is.
Athena - Starting Class: Myrmidon
Gaiden character. Her personality consists of a goofy accent.
Bantu - Starting Class: Manakete (cannot reclass)
An old dragon dude. Very limited usefulness mostly due to the rarity of his weapon. Friend of Tiki.
Caeser - Starting Class: Mercenary
Partner of Radd.
Radd - Starting Class: Myrmidon
Partner of Caeser.
Roger - Starting Class: Knight
The only thing I can say about him is that he recruitment convo with Caeda is kind of funny.
Jeorge - Starting Class: Sniper (promoted)
Famous sniper from Archanea, very patriotic.
Maria - Starting Class: Cleric
Younger sister of Minerva, was taken hostage to secure Minerva's cooperation in the war.
Minerva - Starting Class: Dracoknight (promoted)
Princess of Macedon, leader of the Whitewings, and and a fierce warrior. She actually gets characterization, yay~
Linde - Starting Class: Mage
Daughter of a famous sage and wielder of the magic tome Aura.
Jake - Starting Class: Ballitician (cannot reclass)
Lovers with Anna, first available Ballistician.
Midia - Starting Class: Paladin (promoted)
It's a chick paladin! Her boyfriend is Astram.
Dolph - Starting Class: Knight
A bald knight that fights under Midia.
Macellan - Starting Class: Knight
Another bald knight that fights under Midia.
Tomas - Starting Class: Archer
An archer that fights under Midia.
Boah - Starting Class: Bishop (promoted)
A bishop that fights under Midia. Manages to be even worse than Wrys.
Horace - Starting Class: General (promoted)
Gaiden character. A traitor that joins Marth's forces because Nyna tells him to.
Beck - Starting Class: Ballistician (cannot reclass)
While he has no personality to speak of, he's the more useful of the 2 available Ballisticians.
Astram - Starting Class: Hero (promoted)
A mercenary employed by the enemy, but lovers with Midia.
Palla - Starting Class: Pegasus Knight
Eldest sister of the Whitewings. Loyal to Minerva, but has the hots for Abel.
Catria - Starting Class: Pegasus Knight
Middle sister of the Whitewings. Loyal to Minerva, but has the hots for Marth.
Arran - Starting Class: Paladin (promoted)
Can only recruit one of him or Samson, though they're both kind of meh.
Samson - Starting Class: Hero (promoted)
Can only recruit one of him or Arran, though they're both kind of meh.
Xane - Starting Class: Chameleon (cannot reclass)
Xane is effectively the Ditto of Fire Emblem.
Etzel - Starting Class: Sorcerer (promoted)
Gaiden character. Fights Marth against his will, but has a cool monocle.
Est - Starting Class: Pegasus Knight
Youngest sister of the Whitewings and origin of the Est archetype.
Tiki - Starting Class: Manakete (cannot reclass)
A young dragon girl captured and brainwashed to fight against Marth.
Lorenz - Starting Class: General (promoted)
An enemy general that sympatheizes with Marth. Has a cool eyepatch.
Ymir - Starting Class: Warrior
Gaiden character. A really huge guy.
Elice - Starting Class: Cleric
Princess of Altea and Marth's older sister.
Nagi - Starting Class: Manakete (cannot reclass)
A sleeping female Manakete that helps Marth on his quest. Cannot recruit both her and Gotoh.
Gotoh - Starting Class: Sage (promoted)
Hella old dude and the famous White Sage. He appears as an NPC earlier, too. Cannot recruit both him and Nagi.
The Main Lord of the game. We have to use him, no matter how boring he is. Special Weapon - Rapier
Frey - Starting Class: Cavalier
He, uh, has purple hair and a beard. Remake only character.
Abel - Starting Class: Cavalier
The Green Cavalier of the cav duo. Friends with Cain.
Cain - Starting Class: Cavalier
The Green Cavalier of the cav duo. Friends with Abel.
Jagen - Starting Class: Paladin (promoted)
The origin of the Jagen stereotype. Effectively useless. We're not using him even if you vote for him.
Gordin - Starting Class: Archer
Cute little green haired kid. He comes early but has poor bases/growths.
Draug - Starting Class: Knight
Green hair and a stern expression. Supposed to be a tank but he has poor Def, so...
Norne - Starting Class: Archer
Remake only character. Can only recruit if 4 of less of the above characters are still alive after the prologue.
Caeda - Starting Class: Pegasus Knight
The princess of Talys and one of the few characters that gets development in the game. Special Weapon - Wing Spear
Wrys - Starting Class: Curate
Old bald guy. Horrible growths.
Ogma - Starting Class: Mercenary
Ex-Gladiator turned Mercenary. He's Princess Caeda's bodyguard.
Barst - Starting Class: Fighter
One of the 3 faceless Fighters you get in Ch2. Arguably the best of the bunch.
Bord - Starting Class: Fighter
One of the 3 faceless Fighters you get in Ch2.
Cord - Starting Class: Fighter
One of the 3 faceless Fighters you get in Ch2.
Castor - Starting Class: Hunter
Needs medicine for his mom. This is the only personality he has. Hunters are like Archers but better.
Darros - Starting Class: Pirate
He's a pirate that doesn't want to be a pirate. Pirates are like Fighters but with a different promotion.
Julian - Starting Class: Thief (cannot reclass)
Has the hots for Lena. Not really useful in combat, but can open chests and doors and stuff.
Lena - Starting Class: Cleric
A noble lady who lives as a cleric. Her most notable feature is being much better than Wrys at everything.
Navarre - Starting Class: Myrmidon
A world-famous mercenary. Kind of a stereotypical lone wolf guy.
Merric - Starting Class: Mage
A noble from Altea and a prized student of a famous magic academy. Wielder of the tome Excaliber.
Matthis - Starting Class: Cavalier
The brother of Lena. Spineless, boring, and less useful than most other cavs.
Hardin - Starting Class: Cavalier
Leader of the country Aurelia and protector of Princess Nyna from Archanea.
Wolf - Starting Class: Horseman (promoted)
An Aurelian Knight that fights under Hardin, leader of the Wolfguard.
Sedgar - Starting Class: Horseman (promoted)
An Aurelian Knight that fights under Hardin, second in command of the Wolfguard.
Roshea - Starting Class: Cavalier
An Aurelian Knight that fights under Hardin.
Vyland - Starting Class: Cavalier
An Aurelian Knight that fights under Hardin.
Wendell - Starting Class: Sage (promoted)
A sage of Khadein, Merric's teacher.
Rickard - Starting Class: Thief (cannot reclass)
A kid thief that looks up to Julian. Even less suited to combat than Julian is.
Athena - Starting Class: Myrmidon
Gaiden character. Her personality consists of a goofy accent.
Bantu - Starting Class: Manakete (cannot reclass)
An old dragon dude. Very limited usefulness mostly due to the rarity of his weapon. Friend of Tiki.
Caeser - Starting Class: Mercenary
Partner of Radd.
Radd - Starting Class: Myrmidon
Partner of Caeser.
Roger - Starting Class: Knight
The only thing I can say about him is that he recruitment convo with Caeda is kind of funny.
Jeorge - Starting Class: Sniper (promoted)
Famous sniper from Archanea, very patriotic.
Maria - Starting Class: Cleric
Younger sister of Minerva, was taken hostage to secure Minerva's cooperation in the war.
Minerva - Starting Class: Dracoknight (promoted)
Princess of Macedon, leader of the Whitewings, and and a fierce warrior. She actually gets characterization, yay~
Linde - Starting Class: Mage
Daughter of a famous sage and wielder of the magic tome Aura.
Jake - Starting Class: Ballitician (cannot reclass)
Lovers with Anna, first available Ballistician.
Midia - Starting Class: Paladin (promoted)
It's a chick paladin! Her boyfriend is Astram.
Dolph - Starting Class: Knight
A bald knight that fights under Midia.
Macellan - Starting Class: Knight
Another bald knight that fights under Midia.
Tomas - Starting Class: Archer
An archer that fights under Midia.
Boah - Starting Class: Bishop (promoted)
A bishop that fights under Midia. Manages to be even worse than Wrys.
Horace - Starting Class: General (promoted)
Gaiden character. A traitor that joins Marth's forces because Nyna tells him to.
Beck - Starting Class: Ballistician (cannot reclass)
While he has no personality to speak of, he's the more useful of the 2 available Ballisticians.
Astram - Starting Class: Hero (promoted)
A mercenary employed by the enemy, but lovers with Midia.
Palla - Starting Class: Pegasus Knight
Eldest sister of the Whitewings. Loyal to Minerva, but has the hots for Abel.
Catria - Starting Class: Pegasus Knight
Middle sister of the Whitewings. Loyal to Minerva, but has the hots for Marth.
Arran - Starting Class: Paladin (promoted)
Can only recruit one of him or Samson, though they're both kind of meh.
Samson - Starting Class: Hero (promoted)
Can only recruit one of him or Arran, though they're both kind of meh.
Xane - Starting Class: Chameleon (cannot reclass)
Xane is effectively the Ditto of Fire Emblem.
Etzel - Starting Class: Sorcerer (promoted)
Gaiden character. Fights Marth against his will, but has a cool monocle.
Est - Starting Class: Pegasus Knight
Youngest sister of the Whitewings and origin of the Est archetype.
Tiki - Starting Class: Manakete (cannot reclass)
A young dragon girl captured and brainwashed to fight against Marth.
Lorenz - Starting Class: General (promoted)
An enemy general that sympatheizes with Marth. Has a cool eyepatch.
Ymir - Starting Class: Warrior
Gaiden character. A really huge guy.
Elice - Starting Class: Cleric
Princess of Altea and Marth's older sister.
Nagi - Starting Class: Manakete (cannot reclass)
A sleeping female Manakete that helps Marth on his quest. Cannot recruit both her and Gotoh.
Gotoh - Starting Class: Sage (promoted)
Hella old dude and the famous White Sage. He appears as an NPC earlier, too. Cannot recruit both him and Nagi.
Each person may submit up to 11 characters from this list to be in the Playthrough! You should assign Member names to everyone you submit as well, and also suggest a member to be Marth! Since there is no Avatar/MU for this game, I also don't have an assigned character, so please suggest me for a character too!
Post your own ideas, and "Like" the posts of those people who post character/member suggestions that you like. The final team will be chosen from the public submissions roughly based on popularity (most posts and like).
Keep in mind that characters NOT chosen to be used will be killed off. This is mostly so we can access the Gaiden chapters scattered throughout the game.
There are also some enemies/NPCs that can be assigned to members as well:
Nyna: Princess and Heir of Archanea. She's a fairly major NPC that travels with Marth but does not fight.
Malledus: Old guy who travels with Marth but doesn't fight.
Camus: Enemy leader of the Sable Knights of Grust. Loyal to a fault.
Gharnef: Super creepy old Dark Mage guy. Recurring enemy.
Michalis: Prince of Macedon and older brother of Minerva. Kills his father and other assorted Bad Things.
Medeus: Earth Dragon, leader of Dolhr, and major baddy of the entire game.
Reclassing & Class Info
In addition to picking my team, readers will also get to choose reclass options for all available characters. We will be doing one reclass per chapter as soon as reclassing becomes available at the start of Chapter 4.
Shadow Dragon Classes
Some of the classes in Shadow Dragon may not be familiar to you if you've not played a large variety of FE games, or any at all, so here's a basic run-down of all of the classes:
Lord - Swords - Marth only! Can use the Fire Emblem to unlock chests without keys. Has a Level 30 cap. Does not promote.
Pegasus Knight - Lances - Has a flying mount and high movement. Weak to bows. Female only. Promotes to Dracoknight.
Dracoknight - Lances/Axes - Upgraded PKs with a flying mount and high movement. Weak to bows.
Cavalier - Lances/Swords - Has a horse mount and high movement. The only base class with multiple weapons. Male only. Promotes to Paladin.
Paladin - Lances/Swords - Upgraded Cavs with a horse mount and high movement.
Knight - Lances - High defensive abilities but low movement. Promotes to general.
General - Lances/Bows - Upgraded knights with slightly higher move.
Archer - Bows - Can only attack from a distance but can wield Longbows. Promotes to Snipe.
Sniper - Bows - Upgraded Archer that can only attack from a distance but can wield Longbows.
Mercenary - Swords - Foot fighters with well-rounded stats. Promotes to Hero.
Hero - Swords/Axes - Upgraded Mercs with strong fighting abilities.
Myrmidon - Swords - Foot fighters that are fast and agile more than strong and defensive. Promotes to Swordmaster.
Swordmaster - Swords - Upgraded Myrms with high Speed/Skill and critical chances.
Fighter - Axes - Foot fighter with strong offensive but weak defenses. Promotes to Warrior.
Warrior - Axes/Bows - Upgraded Fighter with high Strength.
Hunter - Bows - Can only attack from a distance. Stronger but more fragile than Archers. Promotes to Horseman.
Horseman - Bows/Swords - Upgraded Hunter. Gains a horse mount and high movement for many fighting options.
Pirate - Axes - Foot fighters who can cross over water. Promotes to Berserker.
Berserker - Axes - Upgraded Pirates that can cross water and mountains and have high critical hit chances.
Dark Mage - Tomes - Magic users that are good against high defensive units. Promotes to Sorcerer. (NOTE: There's no actual Dark Magic in this game)
Sorcerer - Tomes/Staves - Upgraded Dark Mages that fight with magic and heal.
Mage - Tomes - Magic users good against high defensive units. Promotes to Sage.
Sage - Tomes/Staves - Upgraded Mages that fight with magic and heal.
Curate/Cleric - Staves - Cannot fight, only heal. Curates are male and Clerics are female. Promotes to Bishop.
Bishop - Staves/Tomes - Upgraded Curates/Clerics that fight with magic and heal.
Thief - Swords - Can open doors, chests, and bridges without keys. Has a Level 30 cap. Does not promote.
Manakete - Dragonstone - Units that transform into dragons to fight. Tiki & Nagi can also wield Divine Stones. Has a Level 30 cap. Does not promote.
Ballistician - Ballitae - Low movement fighters that can attack from very high range. Has a Level 30 cap. Does not promote.
Chameleon - None - Has no fighting ability on its own but can mimic the abilities of other fighters.
Pegasus Knight - Lances - Has a flying mount and high movement. Weak to bows. Female only. Promotes to Dracoknight.
Dracoknight - Lances/Axes - Upgraded PKs with a flying mount and high movement. Weak to bows.
Cavalier - Lances/Swords - Has a horse mount and high movement. The only base class with multiple weapons. Male only. Promotes to Paladin.
Paladin - Lances/Swords - Upgraded Cavs with a horse mount and high movement.
Knight - Lances - High defensive abilities but low movement. Promotes to general.
General - Lances/Bows - Upgraded knights with slightly higher move.
Archer - Bows - Can only attack from a distance but can wield Longbows. Promotes to Snipe.
Sniper - Bows - Upgraded Archer that can only attack from a distance but can wield Longbows.
Mercenary - Swords - Foot fighters with well-rounded stats. Promotes to Hero.
Hero - Swords/Axes - Upgraded Mercs with strong fighting abilities.
Myrmidon - Swords - Foot fighters that are fast and agile more than strong and defensive. Promotes to Swordmaster.
Swordmaster - Swords - Upgraded Myrms with high Speed/Skill and critical chances.
Fighter - Axes - Foot fighter with strong offensive but weak defenses. Promotes to Warrior.
Warrior - Axes/Bows - Upgraded Fighter with high Strength.
Hunter - Bows - Can only attack from a distance. Stronger but more fragile than Archers. Promotes to Horseman.
Horseman - Bows/Swords - Upgraded Hunter. Gains a horse mount and high movement for many fighting options.
Pirate - Axes - Foot fighters who can cross over water. Promotes to Berserker.
Berserker - Axes - Upgraded Pirates that can cross water and mountains and have high critical hit chances.
Dark Mage - Tomes - Magic users that are good against high defensive units. Promotes to Sorcerer. (NOTE: There's no actual Dark Magic in this game)
Sorcerer - Tomes/Staves - Upgraded Dark Mages that fight with magic and heal.
Mage - Tomes - Magic users good against high defensive units. Promotes to Sage.
Sage - Tomes/Staves - Upgraded Mages that fight with magic and heal.
Curate/Cleric - Staves - Cannot fight, only heal. Curates are male and Clerics are female. Promotes to Bishop.
Bishop - Staves/Tomes - Upgraded Curates/Clerics that fight with magic and heal.
Thief - Swords - Can open doors, chests, and bridges without keys. Has a Level 30 cap. Does not promote.
Manakete - Dragonstone - Units that transform into dragons to fight. Tiki & Nagi can also wield Divine Stones. Has a Level 30 cap. Does not promote.
Ballistician - Ballitae - Low movement fighters that can attack from very high range. Has a Level 30 cap. Does not promote.
Chameleon - None - Has no fighting ability on its own but can mimic the abilities of other fighters.
How does reclassing work?
There are 3 sets of classes available for all characters. Which pool a character gets access to is based on their starting class and gender. Here are the various pools and other details:
Male Set A
Non-promoted: Cavalier – N/A* – Archer – Myrmidon – Mage – Curate
Promoted: Paladin – Dracoknight – Sniper – Swordmaster – Sage – Bishop
Male Set B
Non-promoted: Knight – Mercenary – Fighter – Hunter – Pirate – Dark Mage
Promoted: General – Hero – Warrior – Horseman – Berserker – Sorcerer
Female Set
Non-promoted: N/A* – Pegasus Knight – Archer – Myrmidon – Mage – Cleric
Promoted: Paladin – Dracoknight – Sniper – Swordmaster – Sage – Bishop
(* - The N/As are Pegasus Knight (for Male Set A) and Cavalier (for Female Set). This is because those base classes are gendered locked in SD, but their promotions (Dracoknight and Paladin, respectively) are not.)
When you reclass a character, you can switch them into any class in the pool that matching their class/gender. For example, Ogma is a male Mercenary, so he has the availability to reclass into a Knight, a Fighter, a Hunter, a Pirate, or a Dark Mage. When you reclass a character, their current stats will change slightly and their growth rates will change significantly. There are some exceptions to which classes you can assign, however. The game limits you to how many characters you can have in a given class at any point. So, if I have too many Archers, for example, I might not be able to make someone else an Archer, even if Archer is in their class set.
If this sounds a bit overwhelming, don't worry; once reclassing becomes available, I will let everyone know what the available options are.
Non-promoted: Cavalier – N/A* – Archer – Myrmidon – Mage – Curate
Promoted: Paladin – Dracoknight – Sniper – Swordmaster – Sage – Bishop
Male Set B
Non-promoted: Knight – Mercenary – Fighter – Hunter – Pirate – Dark Mage
Promoted: General – Hero – Warrior – Horseman – Berserker – Sorcerer
Female Set
Non-promoted: N/A* – Pegasus Knight – Archer – Myrmidon – Mage – Cleric
Promoted: Paladin – Dracoknight – Sniper – Swordmaster – Sage – Bishop
(* - The N/As are Pegasus Knight (for Male Set A) and Cavalier (for Female Set). This is because those base classes are gendered locked in SD, but their promotions (Dracoknight and Paladin, respectively) are not.)
When you reclass a character, you can switch them into any class in the pool that matching their class/gender. For example, Ogma is a male Mercenary, so he has the availability to reclass into a Knight, a Fighter, a Hunter, a Pirate, or a Dark Mage. When you reclass a character, their current stats will change slightly and their growth rates will change significantly. There are some exceptions to which classes you can assign, however. The game limits you to how many characters you can have in a given class at any point. So, if I have too many Archers, for example, I might not be able to make someone else an Archer, even if Archer is in their class set.
If this sounds a bit overwhelming, don't worry; once reclassing becomes available, I will let everyone know what the available options are.
Game Info & Details
If you don't know what any of this stuff means, that's okay, don't worry about it.
- This playthrough will be played on Normal difficulty. This is mostly so I can focus on playing through the story and not have to worry about leveling or whatever, even if my team ends up shitty.
- I will not use any characters in battle besides the ones decided upon here, except for the chapters they appear if they're forced.
- Characters that will not be used will be killed off. This is so we can access and play all of the Gaiden chapters. However, if a character is needed to recruit a later character, they will be left alive until they have performed their recruiting duties.
- There will be 1 reclass each chapter (starting with Ch. 4) chosen by readers. If no one votes for a reclass, a character and class will be chosen at random, or just chosen by me depending on what I feel like.
Feel free to ask if you have any questions! If those questions are spoilery, please either spoiler tag them or send them in via PM.
Chapters! \o/
Once the run starts, all chapters will be linked here.
Prologue 1 & 2: Prince Green flees for his life
Prologue 3 & 4: Frey & Abel bite the dust
Chapter 1: The time to seek revenge has come!
Chapter 2: 4 deaths and we still manage to gain units
Chapter 3: Because every FE game needs a chapter about killing bandits
Chapter 4: Macedon enters stage right
Chapter 5: Saving the Princess
Chapter 6: Fire Emblem, get!
Chapter 6x: Our First Gaiden! :D
Chapter 7: We found a dragon!
Chapter 8: In which Palutena earns 10G
Chapter 9: Looting the dragon king's treasure
Chapter 10: The Incredible Laim
Chapter 11: In which we desperately try to feed EXP to PMJ
Chapter 12: Prince Green really loves his treasure
Chapter 12x: Tails still can't make up his mind
Chapter 13: No one knows where we're going or why
Chapter 14: Prince Green gets his revenge, part 1
Chapter 16: The search for Chapter 15
Chapter 17: Prince Green gets his revenge, part 2
Chapter 17x: Hello Monocle Man!
Chapter 18: The very long battle of the bridge
Chapter 19: Princess Scattered Mind
Chapter 20: In which Princess TT says goodbye to love
Chapter 20x: We're back!
Chapter 21: Continuing the path of the conqueror
Chapter 22: In which Athena kills Mora, but it's totally not personal
Chapter 23: Too Many Ice Espeons
Chapter 24: Prince Green hatches a weird plan
Chapter 24x: Double Divine Dragons all the way across the sky~
Endgame
Prologue 3 & 4: Frey & Abel bite the dust
Chapter 1: The time to seek revenge has come!
Chapter 2: 4 deaths and we still manage to gain units
Chapter 3: Because every FE game needs a chapter about killing bandits
Chapter 4: Macedon enters stage right
Chapter 5: Saving the Princess
Chapter 6: Fire Emblem, get!
Chapter 6x: Our First Gaiden! :D
Chapter 7: We found a dragon!
Chapter 8: In which Palutena earns 10G
Chapter 9: Looting the dragon king's treasure
Chapter 10: The Incredible Laim
Chapter 11: In which we desperately try to feed EXP to PMJ
Chapter 12: Prince Green really loves his treasure
Chapter 12x: Tails still can't make up his mind
Chapter 13: No one knows where we're going or why
Chapter 14: Prince Green gets his revenge, part 1
Chapter 16: The search for Chapter 15
Chapter 17: Prince Green gets his revenge, part 2
Chapter 17x: Hello Monocle Man!
Chapter 18: The very long battle of the bridge
Chapter 19: Princess Scattered Mind
Chapter 20: In which Princess TT says goodbye to love
Chapter 20x: We're back!
Chapter 21: Continuing the path of the conqueror
Chapter 22: In which Athena kills Mora, but it's totally not personal
Chapter 23: Too Many Ice Espeons
Chapter 24: Prince Green hatches a weird plan
Chapter 24x: Double Divine Dragons all the way across the sky~
Endgame
Last edited: