Rank the Fire Emblem Storylines!

[WyvernSageLord]

Alrighty guys and gals, it's time to judge FE in terms of storyline! Which Fire Emblem stories would you rank from best to worst? (Based on the ones you've played) Which stories were the most compelling, which ones weren't? Rank in numbers, from 1st (you liked the best) to whatever's the lowest! (Even I'm having a hard time deciding :x)

1st: Genealogy of the Holy War
2nd: Radiant Dawn
3rd: Path of Radiance
4th: Blazing Sword
5th: Sealed Sword
6th: Sacred Stones

How about you guys?

[hyde]

Well, let's see. I think I would be more fond of the FE4 and FE5 storylines if I knew more about them, but I've only played the first twice and the second once, so they're still mostly a mystery to me.

1st: Radiant Dawn
2nd: Thracia 776
3rd: Path of Radiance
4th: Genealogy of the Holy War
5th: Sword of Seals
6th: Blazing Sword
7th: Sacred Stones

Although I've played up to chapter 9 in Monshou no Nazo book 1 and up to chapter 14 in the remake, I haven't read a translation so I know nothing of the storyline. The same goes for Gaiden, which I've played up to the fourth map or so, and book 2 of Monshou no Nazo, which I haven't played at all.

[theshim is the shimiest shim of all the shims that ever shim]

Well, FE4 has to take first place.  Nothing even comes close.

After that...I'd say PoR's story was better than RD's...in fact, I'd put RD below Blazing Sword in that respect.  So...

FE4
FE9
FE7
FE10
FE6
FE8

Still need to play 1-3 and 5...well, maybe not 5...

[Lord Fuckboy]

After that...I'd say PoR's story was better than RD's...in fact, I'd put RD below Blazing Sword in that respect.  So...

I agree with you on PoR > RD, but I liked RD a bit more.

Anyways...

FE9
FE6
FE5
FE10
FE4
FE7
FE8

I preferred FE9's overall atmosphere to FE10's as well.

[Datsura]

1. Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War

This is by far, the best story in the whole FE series. It's extremely deep and very epic, and I found it to be extremely enjoyable. The reason why FE4 is my favorite game of all time.

2. Fire Emblem: Monshou no Nazo

Another great story. It's not too deep though.

3. Fire Emblem: Sword of Seals

No where near as good as FE4, but it's great anyway. It has holy weapons, legendary heroes which are things that I enjoy. Also Zephiel was a fun character, with Bern invading Elibe and the rise of Roy and etc. All fun.

4. Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance

A mercenary becoming a hero, how original. Nothing epic. Not that good.

5. Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn

The only good part was the final chapter, Sephiran and the history of Tellius. The other parts were pretty bad.

6. Fire Emblem: Blazing Sword

Eh.. the story isn't good. Gameplay is amazing though.

7. Fire Emblem: Sacred Stones

I might puke.



I didn't beat FE5 as I thought it was too boring.

[Charliecane]

Mystery of the Emblem
Thracia 776
Genealogy of the Holy War
Blazing Sword
Path of Radiance
Sword of Seals
<Vast Space Goes Here>
Sacred Stones

I think Genealogy's story is overrated. It's good, but the writing is pretty poor at times. Like, you know, completely bypassing this whole "relationship" thing between Sigurd and Deirdre and pulling the love at first sight card. If Genealogy was rewritten and cleaned up, it would live up to the hype, but it's just plain "good" as it is.

Sacred Stones comes dead last because it dives so far into cliché territory that I think I might just suffocate. Even the characters weren't very interesting.

[Black Knight]

I've only played the American released fire emblem games, so I have a fairly limited scope, but here are my thoughts:

1. Path of Radiance: Best dialogue between characters, the story is interesting and has a sense of flow and urgency that makes me always want to play the next level. Good narration of the story.

2. Sacred Stones: As much as people deride this game for its game play, I don't actually mind the plot so much. It has decent support conversations, and the story is compelling enough to make me want to keep playing.

3. Radiant Dawn: The story is interesting enough, but it's so badly narrated that I'm cringing while I listen to it. I can't even remember how many times I heard the phrase "fanned the flames of _____" and "sowed the seeds of ______". And the adjective Truly. "Princess Elincia, you are Truly amazing. Ike, you're Truly a great fighter. Ranulf, you're truly a good friend. Tibarn is Truly a fearsome ally." IT DIDN'T STOP!
The plot was somewhat good, but it was spread out over so many chapters that I had trouble maintaining interest sometimes.

4. Blazing Sword: I find the story to be incredibly blah. It's sometimes random and disjointed, and I just can't give a damn about the characters or what happens to them. Plus Eliwood gives me a pain in the ass.

[caleb723]

I have also played only the out-of-Japan Fire Emblems as well.

1. Path of Radiance
2. Blazing Sword
3. Radiant Dawn
4. Sacred Stones

[Eltoshen]

Mystery of the Emblem
Thracia 776
Genealogy of the Holy War
Blazing Sword
Path of Radiance
Sword of Seals
<Vast Space Goes Here>
Sacred Stones

I think Genealogy's story is overrated. It's good, but the writing is pretty poor at times. Like, you know, completely bypassing this whole "relationship" thing between Sigurd and Deirdre and pulling the love at first sight card. If Genealogy was rewritten and cleaned up, it would live up to the hype, but it's just plain "good" as it is.

Sacred Stones comes dead last because it dives so far into cliché territory that I think I might just suffocate. Even the characters weren't very interesting.

Mind explaining what the relationship is?  I don't seem to recall/forgot.

1. Genealogy of Holy War -  solely for the fact that there isn't some dragon or whatsoever as the final boss as I find that pretty generic.  i don't dare mention storyline, because it's pretty obvious that it tops everything else.
2. Blazing Sword - I don't know if it's just me, but the thrill of playing this game for the first time was greater than that of any other game I've ever played.  And I actually like Hectorsome of the characters.
3. uh...Thracia776/Path of Radiance - No real explanation as I just like these games, and that's all.  Path of Radiance for the diverse characters.  Largo amuses me.  So does Calil.  And Ilyana.  And emoSoren.  Oh yes, and how Ike doesn't seem to give a dam about much.
4. Mystery of the Emblem - I don't know if it was just the graphics, but this game turned me off.
5. Sacred Stones - Sigh...

I didn't play Radiant Dawn yet as I don't own a Wii...  only a few times when I'm over at a friend's house.

[WyvernSageLord]

Oh, it's quite simple; Sigurd and Diadora (Or however the heck her name is translated) actually just see each other for the first time, and then they freaking fall in love. Simple as that. Now seeing as how YEARS pass after they encounter each other? I would've been fairly alright with them just talking to each other at first, and then them gaining the hots for eachother DURING THE FREAKING TIMESKIP!

When I read the 'love' dialogue to between those two, I had nothing to say. All I could do was look at the screen with a similar expression as this:


...But yeah. Nonetheless, FE4's story was freaking EPIC!

[Kahane]

BoNam'oLafs

I'll only list the three that stand out to me.

1. Geneaology of the Holy War
This game has the best plot. It features a complete continent where everything and everyone has some sort of history. Add multiple levels of evil plots. But this game doesn't give you the information for free. Instead you have to uncover most of it and complete the story puzzle yourself.
2. Blazing Sword
This game has the best characters for sure. Any playable character is well done and memorable as are the villains.(Face it: Nergal might be the best developed main villain in all FEs) Even the generic bosses have a certain charme to them.
3. Path of Radiance
This game has the best interactions. The different nations interact a lot outside of your campaign. I don't have to mention the Beorc/Laguz conflicts. Even inside your army a lot is going on. Your comrades are arguing about how to proceed or about tactics.(While most FE Lords will just stumble into battle.) Base conversations as well.

Just some fragments.

[Jedor]

1) Genealogy of the Holy War/Thracia 776 (since Thracia exists within FE4, I count it as one >>), while not TEH BEST STOREY EVAR!!!11!2, its the best IS has done so far, I thought. Goes quite deep, has a decent amount of backstory to it, and a massacre. Always love a good genocide
2) Mystery of the Emblem, it expanded nicely on the original story from FE1/Book 1 with Book 2 pretty well, although the whole Chainy thing was a little... pushing it.
3) Path of Radiance, was pretty well done despite my dislike for the game itself, I did find the story interesting.

The rest go here cause I don't feel like ranking/mentioning them, Radiant Dawn was meh and sequels are generally less interesting because its not as original. FE6 would probably go next though, cause I despise FE7 and FE8's story.

[Praetorian]

1. Path of Radiance
2. Thracia 776 
3. Monshou no Nazo
4. Seisen no Keifu
5. Sword of Seals
6. Radiant Dawn
7. Blazing Sword
8. Sacred Stones

The story for Path of Radiance was nothing revolutionary, but I thought that it flowed well, had a nice cast of characters, and was usually interesting enough to make me want to play the next chapter. I also found the base conversations to be a nice addition in trying to flesh out the characters a little. And for Thracia 776... I just liked the atmosphere and characters of that game.

I have to agree with Musashi about Seisen no Keifu being overrated. It was good, but the actual presentation of the story could have used some work, in my opinion. Maybe I just didn't enjoy it that much because I knew what to expect... having played through the game in Japanese before playing through with a translation.

I can't really say much about Gaiden... I didn't really pay attention to the story when I played through it. I play these games more for the game play anyway.

[Mad Eaichu]

For videogame standards I guess FE is OK but graded by a higher standard most of the FE storylines suck. I'd say "Genealogy of the Holy War" gets kudos for it's dramatically epic feel and tragic ending for many characters. Thracia 776 had also pretty sweet moments. From the modern FEs Blazing Sword is probably the best and Radiant Dawn the worst. With RD everything is flat in the first two parts. Then it's all the drama of fighting against former allies.  The last part... well it made me puke. Also the character development was at it's worst ever.

[Foxy-Woxy The Sandwich Scout]

What? Sacred Stones at the bottom of so many lists...

I'm not versed enough in most of the plots of the Fire Emblem franchise, but of the ones I know a good deal about, this is what I have to present:

Path of Radiance
The Sacred Stones
Radiant Dawn
Blazing Sword

Those latter two are tied for last. Huge last.

[Black Knight]

1. Path of Radiance: Best dialogue between characters, the story is interesting and has a sense of flow and urgency that makes me always want to play the next level. Good narration of the story.

2. Sacred Stones: As much as people deride this game for its game play, I don't actually mind the plot so much. It has decent support conversations, and the story is compelling enough to make me want to keep playing.

3. Radiant Dawn: The story is interesting enough, but it's so badly narrated that I'm cringing while I listen to it (I can't even remember how many times I heard the phrase "fanned the flames of _____" and "sowed the seeds of ______"). The plot was good, but it was spread out over so many chapters that I had trouble maintaining interest sometimes.

4. Blazing Sword: I find the story to be incredibly blah. It's sometimes random and disjointed, and I just can't give a damn about the characters or what happens to them. Plus Eliwood gives me a pain in the ass.

Path of Radiance
The Sacred Stones
Radiant Dawn
Blazing Sword

Those latter two are tied for last. Huge last.

I see what you did there.

[Foxy-Woxy The Sandwich Scout]

I see what you did there.

Uh, wow. I didn't even know you posted. This does not bode well...

[I Fell In Love With Judas, then I got Herpes]

Next person to use pseudo-twin telepathy is totally getting banned like a bitch.

On the subjekt, why no Sword of Seals in these lists?

[hyde]

Now that I think about it, me putting Radiant Dawn at the top was ridiculous. Must've had to do with the fact that I was just playing it. While I love the game because of the mechanics, the story didn't interest me at all. The only reason I followed it was because I knew the characters, especially the Dawn Brigade part was boring to me.

Purely by atmosphere, Thracia 776 is at the top of my list. But the DS remake also comes a long why. In terms of story, Path of Radiance would be the winner. That might've also influenced my opinion on Radiant Dawn.

[camus the dark knight]

FE4/5
FE1/3/11
FE9/10
FE6
FE7
FE2
FE8

Starting with best from top going down (In my opinion of course).