Part 6: Chapter 5X
There's no X in the chapter's Japanese title so I improvised. Anyone else feel that Chapter 5X was pretty much filler in the original game? It's not even a sidequest, you HAVE to play it.
The map is completely original, but it's covered in roof tiles, which means the map will be revealed as we go. Not to mention this is going to take awhile because enemies don't move until they're revealed.
Standing in for Ephraim is...sigh...LYN. I get that there really wasn't much choice here because she's the only other female GBA Lord, but think about it, this is a character that relies on evasion - she can't take many hits, and in a game that takes after FE5 that's a near-death sentence. She DOES have the Mani Katti in her inventory, though. Along with a Steel Sword. Yeah.
She's accompanied by Florina and Fiora, the latter of which is a Cavalier and probably the most useful of all three.
Orson is most certainly not going to betray us, oh no. He does come with a Bronze Bow which is weak enough to leave most enemies at around 1 HP or so. Of particular note are his weapon levels: Classes now have different maximum weapon ranks. (His Lance rank is capped at A and his Bow rank is capped at B. You can barely see them flashing green, I should've timed the screenshot better)
His battle animations are a little strange, however: He looks like a Nomad Trooper when using a Bow, but looks like a Cavalier otherwise. Very strange.
That enemy drops the only Door Key in the chapter. There are three doors, so one key with three uses will be enough.
Fiora opens the door and reveals the next batch of enemies.
Fortunately this Archer is fast enough to not get doubled...
Okay Lyn, you get one chance to prove to me you're better than you were in FE7.
Oh how I wish I could bench you.
Florina gets the kill and gets...nothing important, but more HP is good enough for me.
Notice that the axe doesn't actually touch Lyn's sprite. Just a wierd little thing to me.
Two in a row. She's dead-set on putting Karla to shame.
The pillar and stair tiles now heal the unit standing on them. I like this change, even though it makes little sense, because the only healing tile before was the throne, which is the end of the chapter anyhow.
Enemies stupidly suicide on Orson, much to my dismay.
Apparently Orson has a moral issue with attacking Archers at close range.
Well, this isn't so bad.
I then realise I should probably swap Fiora's Iron Sword for Lyn's Steel Sword. Should make doubling a little easier.
Okay, I'm happy with these because I can feed someone else the kills.
We pass the second door and spot some chests. There are three chests and only one Chest Key on one of the enemies.
Speed!
Woah. Strength and defense? Who are you and what have you done with Florina.
Oh yeah, one of those chests is past a pool of water, so only Florina can get to that one without rescue. I'm lazy so we'll do it without rescue.
It's like all the Cavaliers want to dodge when they don't need to.
Awesome.
Come to think of it this is probably the most well-guarded chest ever. Think about it, you need a flier to get to it and there's an Archer there.
That Archer's in for a surprise, however.
Fast-forwarding a little, we can simply use second move to get away...or, we COULD if we had enough extra move to get out of range. Silly me.
Oh, bad luck will mess with you, too.
We took a hit in the process but a Killer Lance is definitely worth it.
Door number three is opened.
Flux is effective against Orson? Huh, I never knew that.
No wait don't do that you idiot
An Orson level, for all the good it does.
The second chest has a handy Elixer.
And now to take advantage of FE physics by tossing spears through the wall.
Now THAT is a level.
Come on Lyn, look how much better the other two have done!
Dammit Lyn!
Another lucky miss means I can feed the kill.
And so begins the rampage of Fiora with a Killer Lance...holy shit, it looks like a scythe in that exact frame, that's so cool.
Strength. That's all you need.
The last chest has a useless Wind Sword, which only Orson can use at this point.
And she was doing so well up to this point.
REVENGE!
Man I'm going to ditch Priscilla if this keeps up.
I mean, everyone whiffs on occasion, right?
In Fiora's case, the payout is well worth putting up with it. For once.
Someone dropped another Elixer. There's actually so many items that if you want to leave Orson's inventory empty you're going to have to use up a few Vulneraries.
Maybe I should take that Javelin off of her...
Orson shall leave this map with nothing but a Vulnerary.
The boss is too generic to talk about. Killer Lance go.
Where the heck were you in my FE7 playthrough?!
That's Chapter 5X cleared.
Meanwhile, a world map shop now sells Restore. That'll be helpful since the next map introduces status effects.
Coming up next: He may not be the Black Knight but he's the next best thing.
Lyn's growths:
HP: 75%
Str: 45%
Skl: 65%
Spd: 65%
Luk: 60%
Def: 30%
Res: 35%
Florina's growths:
HP: 65%
Str: 40%
Skl: 50%
Spd: 60%
Luk: 55%
Def: 30%
Res: 50%
Fiora's growths:
HP: 85%
Str: 45% (yeah right)
Skl: 50%
Spd: 50%
Luk: 35%
Def: 35%
Res: 35%