The Let's Play Archive

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon

by LordHippoman

Part 22: Questionably Canon Dragon (Battle)

Chapter 9: Questionably Canon Dragon (Battle)

Welcome back to Fire Emblem, a series that by now you might have played on your phone!



: I will kill them for this- one by one- then turn the crimson grass beneath them into their pyre!

Mannu’s pretty hardcore for a guy we’ll never see again.



Since Marth could reach the door this turn already, I just decided to open by opening it up. I should note the Fire Emblem doesn’t work on doors, just Chests, but that’s what the Master Key is for. It’s also the only thing keeping thieves relevant I guess.



I’m splitting the team again on this one. I want about half of our units to go south and start picking away at Mannu’s guards, while Marth and some pals (preferably mobile ones) go and grab the village and chest on the east end of the map.



One thing to keep in mind on this map is that Pyrathi fields a lot of pirates, so the water isn’t saving you. Keep an eye out.



They’ve also got Hand Axes.



Looking back, it was probably a bad idea to send both healers with this group. But, I mean, it turned out fine. Spoilers, I guess. I do win the map.



I’ve got Draug and Cord in position to counter the Pirates coming across the water. Don’t worry about Barst on the left there, I just haven’t moved him yet.



He doesn’t hit hard, but at least Draug doubles.



Wow. So, uh, yeah, this thief will destroy the village on Turn 3 if you don’t hustle over there.



Thankfully we have a winged wall on our side to just park there and prevent his nefarious pillaging.



Also Julian got a kill. I like when Julian gets kills.



You should probably get outta there, Draug.



So I figured Barst could weaken this Pirate enough if he hits one of those axes that Roger could just get the kill.



Joke’s on me, he hit both times and the second was a crit




I like to think Cord just hurled the tome at that other pirate and killed him. Unfortunately it was forever lost beneath the waves.



Uh oh. That Devil Axe is an unwelcome surprise. I’d have preferred another hand axe goober.



Well, these two should be able to weather it fine.



If just barely. I was hoping for the backfire there, but eh.



This thief makes a really bad choice.



This was just to give Roger some EXP.



And, since Ogma’s hurting, Caesar’s going to fill in. He’s basically a stunt double.



The second thief is getting close to that locked room with a chest. Thankfully, Caeda’s got a Javelin.



Caeda, you’re pulling an Abel over here. C’mon.



There really aren’t many enemies on this part of the map, so I’m free to just march everyone here on through to get around to the southern half of the islands.



Except Marth, of course. Marth has to greet a new friend.



: Ifought to defend our palace from Dolhr, but the enemy’s strength was too great. We lost, and I was captured. Thankfully, they’re not half as bright as they are strong, and I managed to slip away when they were not looking.

I’m not sure why he sought refuge in the dictator dragon island and not in Port Warren or something. How is this village even here?

: I heard you were on your way to Pyrathi, and that Princess Nyna was with you, so I came here to offer my help.



I feel like it’s worth noting that Jeorge, despite being a super minor character, is one of the few characters to have a drastically different looking portrait in the sequel:



He dropped something on the ground and just never stopped looking for it.



Jeorge is pretty okay for a prepromote. His growths are atrocious, 30% in Skill being the only real highlight, and his base stats are all pretty bad (except Res, I guess). He does, however, come with instant access to the powerful Silver Bow, and almost enough weapon experience to use the A Rank bow. So I wouldn’t make him a part of your permanent team, but for a few chapters, Jeorge can really tear shit up.



Meanwhile down here, the last of the pirates is trickling in, so we’ll start pushing on Mannu’s island soon.



I did accidentally put Roger in Mage range, though. Thankfully this wasn’t a double.



Time to skedaddle.



And the Mage brought his friends.

I brought Barst.




The mage is the biggest concern here, but I want to get rid of as many of his allies on my turn as I can just to make the damage more bearable.



Not too bad.



Unfortunately, someone’s gotta soak a Blizzard here to get him in death range. Thankfully Wolf has a bucketload of HP and not much else that bothers him.



Little bit of overkill there, Caesar, but I approve.



Also, I should heal Barst up here, because that Pirate and Hunter can down him if they combine their fire. Lena Physic from across the map? Why not?



Thank you, kind thief, for opening the door for Caeda.



Clearly chivalry isn’t dead. That guy is, though.



I see this going poorly for you.



Especially if...both of them miss.

Barst, ladies and gentlemen.



The only real enemies of note down here right now are these Hunters, who are easy pickings for Cain (and the others, once they catch up.) He also nabs a level in Swords off of this.



But why wait for everyone else when we have a perfectly good Caeda?




Things hit Wolf. Wolf hits back.



And with that, the enemies attacking from that island are all gone. Except that one hunter in the bottom center there. Don’t worry, I’ll get to it.



Like I said, I got to it.



Unfortunately I now have a new thing to get to. Five new things, actually. One from each fort along the bottom of the map. You could block these forts with fliers, but it seems like more trouble than it’s worth, especially with how close they are to each other. You’d probably just end up with a dead Caeda/whoever.



The streak!



Thankfully, there’s a fort right here that will make for some good cover, as most of these Pirates are going to go for the eastern team.



Also Cavalier Nabalier can’t even double a curate.



At least his skill isn’t two anymore!




I’m going to move Abel just outside the Pirate’s attack range, so I can go after the Pirate who comes in the very far right corner of the map.



Importantly, this guy in the middle has a Hammer. So watch out for that if you’re tackling this area with a Knight or General.



One’s got a Hand Axe as well, but Jeorge makes short work of him with a double.



20% is one of the lowest hit rates I’ve seen in this game. Even with Shadow Dragon’s forgiving hit formulas, being a Pirate with weapon triangle disadvantage and a Hammer trying to smack a dude on a Fort isn’t a great idea.



Speaking of Forts, this is Fort Barst now.



To celebrate the opening of Fort Barst, I’m unfurling Wob Leets for the first time. It’s a crit, so, uh, I think that means “good fortune” or something.



Well, that’s okay fortune.



Abel greets a new friend. Better to deal with him here than to let him sneak around the water for our weaker defenders.



Lonely at the start of the map, Ogma takes his own fort. He makes a flag out of leaves and waves it over his own head. Someday, Ogma.

Someday.



Two turns after your first set of pirates, it’s time for Round 2!



Fuck off, Round 2!



Honestly, these guys aren’t a huge threat. Even if you aren’t ready for their arrival, they take a while to get to the relevant parts of the map, and you can set up a solid defense.



They also can’t hit shit, which is nice.



Getting rid of those guys was basically the same as last time, i won’t subject you to that. Mannu’s all alone now.





Manaketes get a cool transformation when they get into battle (You can see his sprite on the map screen changes too!). Unfortunately, they only have 1 range. So Mannu’s really just target practice.



More of them? Fool me once, shame on you.



Fool me twice, tome level 2.



Fool me...threst, here’s a chest.



Oh. Well, makes sense why Mannu would lock that up. The Wyrmslayer is a C rank, 7 Might Sword with 15 uses, which all sounds pretty lame, except that it’s effective for triple damage against Manaketes. This is way more useful in the sequel, because we won’t be running into too many Manaketes in this game. Still, it has its uses.



I would appreciate it if you stopped tossing axes at my friends. He had 16 nice HP, look what you did to it!



This is Hand Axe range, right? (It’s not .)



The store has nothing interesting. I bought a Steel Sword because...eh. We have a lot of Sword units? Maybe I have a retail therapy problem.



So, yeah, I do have to hike Marth all the way around here to get at that locked stuff in the middle of the map. I should have sent Julian this way at the start, whoops.



Mannu’s got no more pirates to call on, and he’s looking pretty low.



Caesar gets to go in for the kill this time.





Not awful. I’d have liked some Strength though.



You’re starting to win me over, Caesar.



I assume they just give you this so you can get the Wyrmslayer or the two treasures in the middle if you didn’t bring a Thief or Master Key.



Hey, while we wait for Marth to finish up, I can show that your units also get the terrain bonuses from the Gates/Thrones! You’re very unlikely to need them at this point...but they’re there.



Oh, yeah, there goes that pirate from earlier. I forgot about that guy.



Prize time!




Wow, I double forgot about this one. Good job though, Julian.




The Bullion (M) is simple stuff, 15k gold for free. That’s pretty damn nice for forging and such.




The Goddess Icon (called the Ashera Icon in 9/10) is a mainstay Fire Emblem item, permanently boosting a unit’s luck by two. Probably the most niche stat booster, but certainly welcome.



This is the worst Lena I have ever had.



anyway.



oh no, hide.

: I have come with a request from our mistress, the princess Minerva. She is planning to lead us against Dolhr in rebellion; however, her hands are tied so long as the enemy holds her younger sister, the princess Maria, captive.

Hey, remember this plot point? It came back!

: Will you rescue Princess Maria from their clutches, that my Whitewing sisters and I might join in your fight?

I see no reason to distrust someone who flew across the ocean on a horse. Let’s do that next time.



: Let’s never talk about that shitty dragon island again.

: Agreed.

Bonus Content



The Greatest Bow Knight Of The Continent, Jeorge

Hell of a title there, buddy.