Blog Update 2024.3.13

I started my new job last week, and they are being super nice, training me up nice and slowly. I'm currently using the time to catch up on FE2 - I got a week behind when I finished up my last job.

I'm also reorienting myself on my exact FE novelization translation schedule through 2024 - 2025, as well as my basic schedule for 2026-2030.

I thought I might as well share my thoughts so far!

Here's the long-term plan, as detailed as I currently have it:

2nd half 2024 - September 2025: Alternating FE2 Book 2 and FE6.

September 2025 - December 2025: A secret non-FE novel translation project!

1st half 2026: FE1 (1 book.)

2nd half 2026, all of 2027, 1st half 2028: FE3. (4 books)

2nd half 2028 - all of 2029: Tearring Saga (3 books)

2030: Berwick Saga (2 books)

The 2nd novelizations of the games that have them, as well as the game books (choose-your-own-adventures), have yet to be scheduled. But will be 2031 and beyond, as is easy to deduce!

As I have mentioned previously, I am alternating FE2 Book 2 and FE6, because FE2 was written at a higher, denser reading level than the other FE novelizations I have tackled so far; whereas FE6 is at an easier reading level for me. This system allows me to take much-needed breaks from FE2, without slowing down my overall translations output. The upload schedule will be chapter-by-chapter. (1 chapter of FE6, then 1 chapter of FE2, then 1 chapter of FE6, etc.)

I'm taking a break from FE in the last quarter of 2025 because FE6 is very awkward in length. At 381 pages, it is far too long to squish into 6 months, but also too short to drag out over 1 year. I also don't have any other FE books that are short enough to be reasonably translated in 3-4 months. And I would hate to break this "always start a new book in January and July" momentum that I have going.

So, I decided to pull something short and sweet from the other video game franchises I have on my novelization shelf. It was written for children, at a 3-4th grade reading level to be exact, so even at its 200 page length, it should be easily doable in 3 1/2 months.

I do have other video game franchises near and dear to my heart other than FE (shocking, I know), so I do want to show at least one of them some love sometime. And this seemed like a good opportunity to do so, without taking too long of a break from FE!

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As for getting caught up on asks, and starting to reconsider non-novel translations, I'm going to put thought into that after I get caught up on the missed week of FE2.

Thanks for sticking with me through the IRL crazy!!

Playing Berwick Saga really is just like, an insane experience, bc of it understanding how to properly utilise base management back in 2005, that Three Houses utterly fumbled.

I played Berwick Saga, here's why you should!

It's a really really good games :)

For those not in the know, Berwick was the second of Kaga's post-Nintendo SRPG games. Despite having TearRing Saga in its ridiculously-long full title (TearRing Saga Series: Berwick Saga Lazberia Chronicle Chapter 174 for those who are curious), the game has only the loosest narrative connection with its predecessor, so don't feel obliged to play that first (though you still might want to to get your feet wet on Kaga's post-Nintendo design style, if you've never played Thracia).

Unlike TearRing, which was basically Fire Emblem with a new coat of paint slapped on top, Berwick is quite a bit different, most notably featuring a hex-grid layout, the player and the AI take turns taking actions on a single phase of play (so no player and enemy phase, but the player does always get the first move each turn) weapon access being mostly tied to a unit's level, playable units you need to hire each chapter if you want to use them until you manage to permanently recruit them, and horses that can take damage and die!

The cast of playable characters is rather small but highly unique on the whole. Units are seldom defined by their stats, but by their skills, weapon access, and prf weapons they have at their disposal. A number of units, including all the thieves, can hide on leafy or man-made terrain, the flier can fly over ground-based units and is safe from melee units initiating onto her, the christmas cavs of the game are defined by one having Vantage (due to the way countering works in Berwick, he can stop enemies dead in their tracks if he hits them first) and the other having the accost-like Deathmatch, a few units are highly valuable for their ability to re-roll avoidance against arrows (you'll be seeing a lot of enemy archers :p), some archers can set up an action to intercept units moving into their range with a free attack that immediately ends their action if the attack lands, and the pirate is less an axe guy who can swim and more a nautical thief who can actually pack a punch unlike the two pure thieves.

The writing is also excellent. Though the main lord, Reese, is involved in a continent-spanning war, the corrupt and incompetent king and his court do everything in their power to sideline him out of petty prejudice, so Reese's army spends as much time helping the common people of the capital as they do aiding the war effort directly. That's not to say Berwick is devoid of big moves and politics, but it is to say it has a stronger focus on the daily struggles of life during a time of war (though this naturally abates by the end of the game, focusing more on the big movements again). The playable characters also receive much more care in their characterization and different story arcs than is the norm, and almost everyone has their own story woven into the main plot, and their own ending once the final map is done.

Downtime between missions (for most of the game, each chapter has its own main mission followed by two optional side missions) takes place in the hub city of Navaron. Before you get worried, everything is done via menus, and the hub is purely there for watching cutscenes, taking on missions, preparing your team, hiring mercenaries, buying equipment and horses, exchanging prisoners, turning in bounties, chatting with an eccentric collector who's keen on rewarding you handsomely for giving him often-unsavory weapons, forging and crafting gear, and eating at the pavilion for chapter-long stat boosts. None of the tedium of exploring Garreg Mach or doing the Somniel's dozen or so chapterly minigames. Much of the NPCs are involved in giving you your side missions, so you'll get to know even them quite well.

Berwick is challenging but fair. And when it feels overwhelming, the folks on the FE Discord are extremely helpful and welcoming to new players. So yeah, I said my piece, Berwick's worth trying out :)

I broke 50 log splitters for this

On mounted nerfs, in Berwick Saga, you get 1 wyvern whom can’t promote, gets mainly non combat skills, has 1 less mov than cavalry, & has sub-par stats. Fliers can’t visit houses, choke points, or aggro enemy units as ground units can pass through them in the engine.

Mind you, there are no pegasus knights in BS, but even so, there are plenty of OP Pegasus Knights in FE that are incredibly good fighters & in nearly all games, unlike armors, they get durable as they level.

Both Flying & Cavalry units when dismounted, have strict terrain penalties similar to armors.

Mind you the flier is still S tier for her non combat utility & two mounted units are still in S tier, though there are infantry units in S tier.

Interesting.

im wondering. would aventurine be the only person who could have an easy enough time with berwick saga because he can bypass layer upon layer of rng? same applies to fire emblem, but berwick saga has wayyyyyyyyyyyyyy more rng and requires more praying to rnjesus.

faye my beloved

I'm gonna bend the rules a bit and merge two of the FE questions together because I think they're more interesting hand in hand.

32 and 26: What direction do you wish the series would take, and what would your pitch be for the first title to go in that direction?

I want to see them lean harder into strategy, or at least give us reasons to not juggernaut. I ain't good at designing games yet so this'll be a fun thought exercise.

Smaller cast of units with greater distinction between units. Units are locked in their class (unless they have like, story promotion stuff idk), they have personal skills and stats that give them specific niches in their class. Maybe someone has Adept and high speed as a Mercenary but another has Pavise, so you have one that is really really good at killing shit, and another who's a tank and spank unit for an example. They feel distinct from each other, and one has the overkill combat that makes them good with priority targets while the other has the ability to handle multiple enemies well to buy time/create space. This is probably the biggest departure as we haven't really had a game that did this imo.

More challenges that aren't just about your stats. Status staves, enemy packs with reaver weapons, packs vulnerable to strong effectives, somewhat open maps, things that allow you to engage with the maps differently. Maps that aren't straight lines but have multiple options for egress and reasons to use those options based on your available tools are great!

Inventory items that give stat bonuses. These were a really good thing that allowed for flexibility to hit benchmarks that we saw in Gaiden, FE4, SOV, Houses, and sort of Engage that added legitimately meaningful depth in the kind of solutions to problems you could find. They can be "win more" things which sucks I won't deny that, but I also value their flexibility too much to really dislike them.

So, with that, I'll try my hand at a pitch.

Your lord is a staff unit. This means that designing things can be done around you *always* having a utility unit and you can be expected to use/react to enemy magic accordingly. You've got a prepromote wyvern who'll be good at combat for a while, and as their combat worsens their utility as a mobility tool is a much more relevant reason to use them. Motley cast goes forth from there, I just think those two things are legitimately interesting ideas to me I want to explore more.

As for story, I've got the least expertise here but... Let's say our main lord haaaates fighting and is optimistic about people. That's why they prefer to disable their foes, heal or protect their allies, that's why they're a staffer. Give them a personal weapon to reflect that, too. There's a background war going on that the lord doesn't get involved in for a while but you *feel* it as you're recruiting your early playable cast (maybe your lord is on some personal mission and your prepromote is their escort. Could have some knight/liege yuri there idk I like that). Townspeople talk about what they've lost along the way because of the war, some people are displaced by it and you can help them out on maps for rewards, etc. Eventually, the cast ends up fighting one of the factions in the war, the other comes to reinforce on that map, and *that's* when the story picks up, as the cast is thrown into the deep end of it. Your lord is convinced to help one faction end the war, and they reluctantly agree because they think it's the best way to stop the fighting because they can't just stay out of it. Things proceed as normal for FE, but there's a greater emphasis on the civilian cost of war along the way, because your lord *wants* to help the people that are hurting because it's their nature. And they're getting *so* tired of what they're hearing, but they keep going on, because at this point that's all they can do. Help those who are hurting, and end the war. Unsurprisingly, the war came about because of the Problem Dragon, who you learn more about the chapters before you fight them. Maybe this dragon is why your lord is on their quest, they wanted to find them? Uncertain about that plot thread especially, but either way they need to in some way be sympathetic or redeemable for one reason or another. Not just because I think that these games are at their best when there is some tragedy with the dragon, but because the lord needs *some* reason to have their faith in the goodness of people be what carries them through this conflict. Maybe they get exploited for it throughout it, maybe they didn't, idk how I'd wanna frame that but the point needs to be them *giving a damn* about people is what lets them end this (yeah I like Idunn, how did you know).

In short, small ragtag cast with a focus on the lord primarily (most other people are there just supporting them) tempering their perception of reality but not letting it get them down. It's a coming of age for them, but they keep their sense of hope for the world because the kindness they showed to others and got back in turn is what enabled them to survive. You need some genuine darkness for that light to show probably, but it needs to be a story about making a difference in other people's lives and how important that is, no matter how small.

sometimes i’m reminded that the kaga saga games exist and goddamn i’m glad i chose not to add those to the scope of “fire emblem” games to get to during my marathon of them bc that would’ve been way too overwhelming

now then... do I want to play the dark souls of fire emblem or kick back with childhood nightmare fuel...

Wait there are novelizations of Tearring and Berwick sagas???

There are... And I've had the goods, ready and waiting, in my collection for a while now! I won't consider the "1st round" of novel translations complete until these are translated too!!

(Since some FE games got 2 novelizations, I consider there to be a round 1 and round 2 of FE novel translations in my long-term plans.)

Berwick Saga is the game of all time Feat. @aokozaki

What was that game series you mentioned a while back, the strategy RPGs made by a former Fire Emblem dev? It sounded cool but I can’t remember the name.

Berwick Saga!

It was made by Shouzou Kaga, the FE series director up until after Thracia :D

Derrick

Will be watching The Last Unicorn tonight wish me luck

Yeah that SRPG released in 2005 featuring a plot point where a young swordmaster attempts to defeat the man in black who defeated their father, only to find that said man in black is impervious to their strikes - they find out they must seek out one of two twin holy swords in order to even touch him.

Berwick Saga.