Part 6: Map 3, Part 3: Revenge(ment?)
Map 3, Part 3: Revenge(ment?)When we last off, Sain had just finished off Serra... But the map's still going. Um... There's not really much to do now, so...
Elfire mage accomplishes little, Luna druid is blocked by Oswin. And, surprising no one...
Serra's back. This teleport, incidentally, can't be blocked - a crashing sound effect plays as whoever's standing there is moved very quickly diagonally down-left into the corner of that little area.
Tee hee. You thought I'd let you beat me that easily?Well, I mean, yeah.
Yeah right! Try to defeat me now!
Four generals appear. They're all super strong.
And... Someone else appears, too.
So, um, let's look at Serra.
What.
What!
What!
Well, I know where not to be. But what of our mystery guest?
Yes, that's Game Over's weapon, as you may recall. So let's get over there as soon as we can.
The nearby enemies all go for Leila. It doesn't go well for them.
Serra goes to put Hector to sleep, and their versus dialogue shows up. This makes more sense if you imagine him coming at her with Armads, but whatever.
And I'm not real... I can do whatever I want, huh? Eeek! Hector! W-Why are you holding your axe like that?! Are you actually going to HIT me?! Oh, I'm going to hit you, alright... And I'm going to enjoy it too. This is too good an opportunity to pass up! EEEEEK! Hector, how could you be so EVIL?! Just imagine what the real Hector would say if he knew! Bah! If the real one's anything like me, I'm sure he'd strangle me to take my place... Goodbye, Serra.And then he falls asleep.
Oh goodie.
NOOO! Not again! This is impossible!
Almost there...
By the way, a stat page for one of those generals. And the equipment for all of them:
Heavy Spear/Horseslayer/Killer Lance
Hammer/Killer Axe/Short Spear
Hax Resta/Halberd/Elixir
Brave Lance/Brave Axe/Elixir
As an aside, does it bother anyone else that the ranged lances, outside of the Javelin, are called Spears, but the Heavy Spear isn't a ranged weapon? Just kinda weird.
And Serra goes to sleep Erk. Yes this is the wrong portrait.
Why? How could you possibly attack me?!
How could I NOT attack you? You tormented me for weeks! This is the only chance I have to fight back... I don't intend to waste it.
Leila kills the last Druid in her range.
This one General keeps getting gassed. Kinda amusing.
I've been moving Oswin over, just to suicide him into Serra to get the dialogue for it.
You know, in case you thought, maybe attacking her was even a slightly plausible idea.
Sir Oswin?! Are you really going to attack me?!
I will do what I must... My apologies, Serra.
Gaaaah... I'm sorry, but... I must withdraw.
Well, time to finish this up.
No... Could it be...? Is that... Really you? Leila...
..... Do you not... Recognize me? Not even you? ..... ... Very well. Wait here. I'll be back.No, wait, that's the wrong one. I meant this:
It's been... A long time.
... Leila... Is that really... you?
No, this is a dream... You couldn't be... Matthew... You're worried that I'm under Serra's control, aren't you? I'm not. She doesn't know I'm here. Really? Whew... That's a relief. But... ...... I'm sorry. Sorry? What for? .....
..... I'm afraid... This is goodbye. Allow me to grant you release.
And, she's turned red on us.
That's it. I'm leaving. I don't want to die!
......And with that, Sonia, Limstella, and Lucius teleport away.
I actually like this bit, with Leila. It kinda comes from nowhere, but it's good. You're already kinda invested in the varyingly silly story, it feels like it could happen in a what-if type of thing, and then this happens. Leila was, after all, a very important person to Matthew. It's somewhat poignant.
But, um. That didn't go so great for us. If you're not ready for it, she'll kill you here and that'll be that, game over. It's never that easy, and you know what that means.
Run!
Wha-What? Why am I... disintegrating? Guess I'm not real after all... Everyone has something they say when fighting Leila except for Erk. Erk she just goes to town on right at the start. Oswin's not on the field right now, but here's his:
...Leila? Is that you? No... It can't be. ...Yes. You... I...
...... You... Are but an obstacle in my path... Goodbye, Oswin.
Again, moving as far away as we can.
What are you doing here? ...... Hector... You are not real. You are a mere construct of Matthew's subconscious... You are preventing him from returning to reality. You must be... Eliminated. Hey! What do you mean, eliminated?! Are you insane?! .........Goodbye, Hector.
Blast! Why do I have to die?!If Leila catches up to Matthew, you get this:
......... Leila! Answer me! ...... This world is... not real, Matthew. I must send you back to reality. No, wait! Leila! ... I'm sorry.We want to avoid that, but...
I'm kinda running out of room to move, here!
This looks... Bad.
But... It looks like something else has caught her eye.
You... You're responsible for trapping Matthew in this twisted world... Are you not? But... B-But...! I wasn't planning on keeping him here so long! It's all Matthew's fault! He's too stubborn! If he had agreed to be my vassal in the first place, none of this would have had to happen, you know! ...... So it was you... That means you must be... eliminated. Aaah! Eeek! No! No, wait! Please! Please don't hurt meeee!
This rune-breaking scripted crit is cool and all, but the thief animations are so blasé after getting used to Assassin stuff.
Now... If only I knew where to go...
You better ESCAPE now when you have the chance!
OWWWIE! That hurt!!
Hoo boy. This part. Remember when that landlady said we'd be in for a rude surprise if we hadn't been paying attention? Yeah... This is the game's last "screw you." The first time through you really just straight up have no way of knowing what to do here. I'd explain why, but, the game will do that shortly. And remember, Leila's still after us, so it's not like we can really dawdle here.
See this house? You couldn't really see the transition, but it only just appeared. It used to be ruins, If you recall.
This is Serra's range, and Matthew and Sain running for it. She doesn't actually move the first turn, so, free out of that corner even if you're in a less favorable location.
Now, let's see about that house...
Wow, Adelheid!!
You're amazing!Well, I mean, I am pretty great, but
Now I can finally tell you how to beat the hack! You see... There's only been one map tile that has stayed the same throughout the entire course of this chapter.
what
What to even say to this.
Well, as long as the magic portal is open, that is... I hope that helps!This is, of course, totally absurd. The place we need to move to is in no way marked on this map. This is the time to take a save state, restart the game, and pour over the maps trying to find what hasn't been changed. That bit at the end means you get no hint about it for stumble over the space before Leila offs Serra.
So... About those screenshots of the top-right corner of the map that I took.
It's this one. So let's get over there.
"I await you on the Dread Isle."Oh yeah. That guy. I just totally forgot about him.
Oh well.
Oh, what lovely red lips! And mesmerizing eyes! Could it be that such beauty exists in this dreary world? ..... My name is Sain! Sain of the Caelin Knights! And you--Wait! Ahhh... You must be Leila... Matthew always seemed to be thinking about you... Now I see why... ..... You are an obstruction in my path... You must be... eliminated. Ahh! My body...! W-Why can't I move? ..... Goodbye, Sain. So cruel... Yet so unspeakably beautiful! To be slain by such lovely hands... What a splendid pleasure!
Whoa... I'm disappearing?!
Time to get out of here. And just in time, too.
YES! I'M SAVED! Now all I have to do is walk through, and--!
Ha... Looks like she's distracted. Time for me to disappear! ... No, wait! Matthew! That's not fair!
I swear, I'm never going anywhere alone with Serra ever again...
What? LEILA?! No... No it can't be...Heh. Did you think it was over that easily? How naïve can you be?
I escaped my dream. Serra said so herself! But you're not in YOUR dream anymore, Matthew.
Oh, come on! What does that even mean?
Who...?
Cedar just sent me to congratulate you for a game well played!No, that bit is just trying to freak you out. The game is actually done. We're back to it being a bit, well, silly.
Oh... I see. That's a relief. Anyway... Adelheid! Thanks for playing the hack! I hope you enjoyed it despite the frustration.I have to say I did.
Oh, and Matthew, if it helps at all... Here's some cookies for your troubles!
Uh... Thanks! I guess... Though this hardly compensates for all the trouble Serra put me through.
Not really... What's done is done. I'm scarred for life either way... But... Wait... There is one thing. Yes? I'm listening.
Do you really want to be my vassal after all?! No... I actually came back to... Repay what I owe.
Oh, let's just say... I've made some friends in high places... Guess the tides have turned in my favor, huh? About time... MATTHEW! NOOOO! STOP! This isn't fair!!! Oh!
.........Heh heh... Sweet dreams, Serra.
---
As I said in the opening post for the hack, the idea was to "make a funny yet gruesomely hard (but fair) Fire Emblem chapter." And as you've seen, I'm not really certain how you could plausibly call this game fair. Doable? Absolutely. Without savestates? If you're careful and you already know what you're doing, then sure. But fair? Victory requires knowing the answer; it's full of trial and error gameplay. Still, it has a sense of humor about it, and the plot is... Exactly serious enough to make the setup work. It's also a good length! Despite being ostensibly "a chapter" it is hours of gameplay, and the last map by itself has significantly more to it than any single chapter of any real FE game this side of Seisen no Keifu.
I'm actually really impressed by this hack. It's not really anything too special, but given what it was made for, what the premise for, it certainly exceeded my expectations. It's not perfect by any means, there's a few things in it that I'd be happier without, but... Well. The plot was sufficient for me, and I really enjoyed the tactical element. I'm not really sure how well difficulty translates to the screenshot format, but there's a lot that can go wrong if you make a misstep and there's a nice tension to it that is really exciting - getting a plan together and executing it in spite of the odds is just fun, the joy of seeing things finally go your way is great. But then, I'm also the sort of person who enjoys the super bonus difficulties in the last few FEs.
Well, that's Matthew's Nightmare. I hope you enjoyed the Let's Play.