Part 1: Dawn of Destiny or, The Obligatory Bandit Chapter

Chapter 1: Dawn of Destiny or, The Obligatory Bandit Chapter

Welcome to Fire Emblem: Binding Blade, also known as Sword of Seals. It is the sixth game in the series, and the first on the GBA.



It gets a bit of a bad rep compared to 7 and 8.



We'll see if I end up agreeing or not,


to pierce the darkness...

...but for now, I'm going with vague optimism.



(If nothing else, the GBA games have really neat sprite animations!)





So fabled, you'd be hard pressed to find more than like, three people who can agree on what the damn thing looks like.



It's probably going to be used to help us off this thing, though. Just a hunch.



Anyway, we don't need to worry about that quite yet. We're going to dive straight into the first chapter, Dawn of Destiny, which contains absolutely no dragons whatsoever. But as is customary...



...we have to get through the opening text crawl before we get to actually play it.

Losses were tremendous for both sides, and in this war the very laws of nature itself were twisted and distorted, bringing chaos and unease...
Defeated and humbled, the dragons disappeared from the realm. Mankind then began to rebuild and repopulate their newly won land.

Humanity. We're kind of dicks.


culture and civilization to the farthest reaches of the continent.


possess the most refined culture in all of Elibe.


is located on the other side of the continent in the east.


situated between them. These smaller lands are...


by a number of marquesses that are bund by a vow of allegiance;


become mercenaries to earn money to survive;


Although there were occasional clashes between these nations, the majority of the people of Elibe lived in peace. That peace, however, was not to last...

What were they doing with all those Ilian mercenaries if the people lived in peace, anyway?



Gee, thanks. Should have let you get stabbed.


Now, Bern is mounting a merciless invasion into Lycia.


Pherae's Lord Roy was in Ostia, Lycia's largest territory, when the invasion began.




has sent for Roy to return to lead Pherae's soldiers in defending against Bern.


At the same time Eliwood sent for Roy,


who is Marquess Ostia's long-time friend and confidant.







It's taking quite a while to begin, if you ask me, but...



We're treated to a nice view of castle Pherae and the... lovely bunch of bandits surrounding it.


They've all hidden themselves inside the castle!



I don't believe you. Eliwood would beat up that disease for EXP.

That, or Hector would do it for him.

Hee hee hee... You were right when you said there wouldn't be many soldiers. They're all getting ready to defend against Bern!

Of course I was right. I'm always right, you fool. But reinforcements could be here any minute.
All right, you curs, listen up! Kill everyone in the castle while we still got time! Then we can walz outta here with all the loot!

Lovely fellow. Nice face you've got there, it would be a terrible shame if something were to... happen to it.



This guy has something else in mind.


Let's go ransack the villages and take everything they got!



And so he does.

This has been your BRIGANDS WILL DESTROY VILLAGES IF YOU DON'T KILL THEM IN TIME, DUMBASS tutorial for the day, hope you enjoyed.



But rather than watch the slaughter in detail, we're going to check in on these fine gentlemen in the castle, and you may be surprised to find the one with blue hair isn't the returning protagonist from the next... game... Look, prequels make shit complicated, ok?

We're under attack by bandits from Mount Bolm!

I understand. Thank you, Merlinus... Blast it! Were I not in this pitiful state, I would take care of them all myself...!

Eliwood should be like, a level 15ish promoted unit at this point, so it's not idle boasting. Sadly, we'll get very little in the ways of save-the-world-level FE7 characters returning and making Roy feel even more obsolete than he already is.

(Spoilers.)



Lilina, presumably, takes after her mother in everything but hair colour.

Lilina, you must hide yourself. This castle is going to become a war zone.

Someone was remarking that castles in Fire Emblem don't seem to be used the way castles were in our world. Typically, one would, like, close the door or something. Here, they just let the enemies in so you can fight them in the corridors.

(Beats having all outdoor maps all the time.)

This time though, they actually do close the doors. So I guess that was pretty pointless commentary at this stage.

No, my lord. I can fight, too!

I dunno, I've seen your starting stats and...

Don't be absurd.

Eliwood. Warrior. Poet. Diplomat.

I couldn't face Hector if something happened to you in my own castle.

To be fair, I would also go to great lengths in order to not piss Hector off.

My father? But...

"You mean my dad?"

It's going to be all right. Roy should be here any moment, so we just need to hold our own until then. He'll drive off these dastards.

Ah, it feels like coming home.


Send a messenger to Roy to let him know the current situation! We need his help!

"Well, the support of the guys he's got with him."

"...Don't tell him I said that, though."

Y-yes, milord!



Meanwhile, some of the bandits are heading for the other village...



and one of them gets run over by a very rude man on a horse as Roy (red hair) and his much more awesome companions approach.


Why are you in such a hurry?

Lord Roy! Bandits have appeared and are attacking the castle as we speak!



He's inside, defending against the bandits' attack. But I don't know how long he can last with his illness...!



You must be a knight of Ostia. Lady Lilina is in the castle. She should be all right. She's with Lord Eliwood after all, but he can't last forever.

No... I shouldn't have let Lilina go to the castle before me.





Yes, you're right. This is no time to despair.
Very well. To arms then! Our target is the castle! We must rescue everyone!

I'mmma rescue them so hard.

Wolt will help.



113 screencaps into this update, finally, gameplay!

...after a few words from our sponsors. Before we get started driving off the dastards, let's take a look at our crew.


The next heir to Pherae. The protagonist of this story.

Roy is Roy, and according to some sources he may or may not also be "our boy" which sounds vaguely racist I don't know look a distraction. He has a reputation for being "kinda meh". Maybe I'll get lucky and cap all his stats!

Speaking of which, his growths are HP 80, Str 40, Skl 50, Spd 40, Lck 60, Def 25, Res 30. (Every number being the percentage chance that the particular stat will go up any time a level is gained.) Just looking at this, Roy is a pretty good all-rounder with impressive Res for a fighter-type, but that defence is a little worrying.


An archer serving Pherae. Was raised like a brother to Roy.

This is Wolt. Wolt is an archer. You know how this goes. Except wait. You may not have noticed, but Wolt is special. He is not your average Wolt. Some people in the Fire Emblem talky thread have been going on about how archers don't need better range or extra mechanics to not suck, they just need good stats! In order to test this out, Wolt has been visited by the Spirit of Axe-Lords Past (or possibly future), and you'll notice he has the same level 1 stats as Hector, you know, the universally loved super awesome dude from the next/previous game in the series.

His growth rates are HP 80 90, Str 40 60, Skl 50, Spd 40, Lck 40, Def 20 50, Res 10 25. Essentially, he has whichever is better between himself and Hector... while being an archer. Maybe it'll even out. Maybe not.


A knight serving Pherae. Passionate and hot-headed.

The Christmas Cavaliers are a series staple.


A knight serving Pherae. Calm and cool-headed.

One red, one green, one more speedy, one more punchy.

Allen: HP 85, Str 45, Skl 40, Spd 45, Lck 40, Def 25, Res 10.
Lance: HP 80, Str 40, Skl 45, Spd 50, Lck 35, Def 20, Res 15.

All within 5% of each other, both kinda squishy, but both pretty decent over all. Allen's growths add up to 290; Lance's to 285. It is all terribly unfair.


A knight serving Ostia. Loyal and dutiful.

Borscht is not only Lilina's bodyguard, he is also magical. That is why knights have 5 Move now. Don't question it.

His growths are HP 90, Str 30, Skl 30, Spd 40, Lck 50, Def 35, Res 10. Shit, Bors, what are you even trying to be? A knight shouldn't be gaining more speed than defence, what the fuck.


A veteran paladin serving Pherae. Roy's instructor in combat.

And to round things out, here is Marcus F. Jeigan, pretty standard early-game paladunce crutch character. You don't really need me to explain the concept of a Jeigan in depth, do you? No? Good. Anyway he looks pretty cool. Always did like the hair, it kinda makes him look like an elderly hedgehog. His growths are, according to the custom of his people, pretty terrible (HP 60, Str 25, Skl 20, Spd 25, Lck 20, Def 15, Res 20) but I'm gonna use the shit out of Marcus.

(Eventually.)

All right, let's-



Ahem. As I was saying. Now we can get on with it.



Cavs can move seven squares, provided there's nothing in the way. It's nice.



As our standard Speedy Cavalier, Lance's speed is at least four points higher than this bandit's, which means he hits twice for 18 damage total.



The bandit hits zero times for zero damage. I'm liking Lance already.



Bors uses his magical powers to follow up.



His hit rate is kind of iffy, but he pulls it off without a hitch. Wow, you might even think knights could be useful if they weren't doomed to lag behind the people they're supposed to be standing in front of and taking hits for!



As the Punchy Cavalier, Allen only hits once, but harder. This means he's... actually not as punchy as Lance. Why do we even keep this guy around?



Good job, Allen.



The moment of truth.



Nice.



Unfortunately, Wolt is still an archer, and this bandit is in range to hit him...



...so Marcus gets in the way, and also hands off all his stuff to Allen because otherwise he would kill the bandit and steal all my experience points.

The dastard.



At least we're getting their attention.

Wait, that's not a good thing.

But they'll have to go through me to get into the castle!

Don't mind if I do!



The enemies get their turn, and Allen gets an axe to the face. Again. Good job, Allen.



But that one bandit was the only one in range, and now Wolt can erase him.



Meanwhile, Roy goes and visits this hut.


If you don't have any, you won't be able to replace your broken weapons! And you can't fight without weapons!

This is true. Fire Emblem does not allow you to punch dudes.

Damn it Fire Emblem why do you not let me punch dudes



While Roy's off having tea and tutorials, Lance.



I like Lance.

Allen gets the kill on this guy, allowing Bors...



...to skewer this archer. Ouch!


If you wanna do well in battle you'd better use terrain wisely. For example, if you're in a forest the trees will cover you! That'll teach your enemies who they're dealing with.

Marcus can't fight (because he doesn't have any weapons) so he just goes and gets tutorial'd at instead. This is the house just above Roy...



...and as a mounted unit, Marcus can keep moving after doing non-combat things. Very handy. Roy wishes he could keep moving after doing non-combat things.

He also wishes he had 8 Move, but alas.



I've decided: Lance is the Best Character.



Allen not so much damn it Allen have you even dodged a single hit



Meanwhile,



Bors defies the weapon triangle. Because he is magical.



Some more poking takes place and Allen, who doesn't start with one because he's dumb, grabs Wolt's vulnerary (10HP healing potion) and starts boxing in this archer, because you can do that to archers. Because they're archers.



You're not allowed to hang with Allen any more, he's a terrible influence.



He may have taken a hit, but Lance completed the boxing-in. Look at that archer. Look at him and laugh.


I know this isn't much... But please accept this money on behalf of all of us. Use it well!

Roy continues making the rounds and gets 5000 gold from this random villager. She has already contributed more to our cause than the protagonist. God damn it Roy, get a grip.


Soldiers from Bern have crossed the border... They laid an awful attack. And even if the allied lords strike back, Lord Eliwood... He can't even stand anymore...

Marcus visits the last house, and holy shit Eliwood, what have you been doing with yourself since the last game? ...Next game?





Enemy phase rolls around again, Lance continues being Lance.



Marcus think Roy spends too much time ogling the villager girl and comes to pick him up.



Next turn, he drops him off here.



Wolt is on a roll. How much of a roll?



This much. And it earns him the first level of the LP. It's... Well okay, it's Strength, so it's fine. Wolt'll really want to develop some speed one of these days, though, since as Lance has so kindly demonstrated, hitting twice is a lot nicer than hitting once.

Duh.



Lance, having deserved it, gets the second level by mercy-killing the poor archer. Speed is good, I'll take speed.



Allen hasn't deserved a level, so he doesn't get one.



This will draw out one of the bandits...



...who proceeds to actually miss Allen.



Who takes revenge on his turn and... God damn it Allen. I'm watching you.



Meanwhile, Marcus takes his sword back and hands it to Roy, because that rapier isn't doing him much good right now and it's kinda fragile.



Bors drew out another bandit and hit him just hard enough that Roy can finish the job.



Baby's first skirmish! It goes quite well for him.



Wolt puts that DEF score to use and parks himself where the bandit was, luring out the next one.



As well as the archer!



Our archer wins the epic sniping duel.

(Stop laughing!)



Alan weakens...



...and Roy finishes the last generic bandit.



That only leaves Dumbass, and... I am not liking my chances on this one. Attacking would be suicidal; I'll just park Bors there so he can counter and get the hell out.



Lance doesn't fare much better with his javelin, but at least it won't kill him if he misses.


You can't take down a few pathetic knights?!

Pathetic, are we?



36 hit!

Except FE6 uses True Hit (average of two random numbers) and so the actual hit rate here is 26. I knew I liked Lance for a reason!



Bors does get hit, but continues to defy the weapon triangle and puts a nice hole in Dumbass. Wolt helps, too.



Can't win them all. Next turn, Lance misses both his javelin throws.



It's only right and proper for Roy to retake his own castle, so I'll park him here. Also Damas heals because he's sitting on a gate he's an asshole.



Ha-ha! And Roy hits. Well, that means we've won. So on our next turn...



Attaboy, Roy! And, well, strength is good.



And on the next turn...





That was kinda sloppy, but it wasn't as if these guys deserved better. I'm sure I'll be able to astound you with my deep tactical know-how on upcoming maps.





I'm so glad to see you both! Thank goodness you're unharmed.

Thanks for the rescue, Roy.

Of course, Father. How is your health?

Well enough. I've some life in me yet. But Roy, do you know why I called you back here?

I'm to take over your role by leading the soldiers of Pherae. We must join the rest of the Lycian Army to defend our people.

Exactly. As you know, Bern has commenced an invasion of Lycia. We are honorbound to follow the ancient vows of our allegiance. Lycia needs every lord's army, and we must oblige.

As you know, exposition starting with "as you know" is fucking stupid and I'm blaming this on Eliwood not being all there due to his unspecified yet serious illness.

Of course.

I'm truly sorry to interrupt your studies and force you into this war, but I'm not well... I'm in no condition to lead an army.

Still do a better job than Roy at it

Father...

(I don't hate Roy or anything. He did well on this map.)


My father leads Lycia's largest army. And I'm certain my magic will be of help to Roy...

No, Lilina. You must return to Ostia.

...Why?

With Hector preparing for battle, there is no one sitting on the throne of Ostia. It must be an uneasy feeling for the people not to have a sitting lord. As the daughter of the marquess, you must take the throne until Hector returns. That will put the people at ease. Do you have any objections?

Tons! I'm missing out on a caster, for starters! Shut up this is more important

...No, my lord.




You are to meet them at the border to Bern. Merlinus will accompany you. He is knowledgeable and experienced and should be of great help.

Thank you for everything, Father.

Don't worry, my son. I have absolute faith in you! Fight bravely, and show everyone who the next marquess of Pherae is!

Yes, Father!





You needn't ask, milady. I will accompany Lord Roy in his travels and protect him with my very life.

Thank you, Bors.



I will. You too, Lilina.

And with that...



The first chapter is over. By the looks of it, the next one will be very exciting.