#feh talk

I've wanted to play this hack ever since before it fully released because I mean, come on. Of course I was interested in a GBA demake of my at the time favorite Fire Emblem!

Unfortunately I'm the procrastinating queen so I could never be bothered to prepare everything to play it. Until now, that is!

I've been in a mood to replay GBA Fire Emblem games since I still needed to play Binding Blade, and after finishing that I was in a mood to play Sacred Echoes, and I am so glad I did!

The spritework is great, the Echoes system works really well when units have more than one inventory slot (finally, shields are useful beyond the earlygame!), the music sounds really nice, it's amazing to play maps that are actually functional and good and the extra writings like supports and boss conversations are very much appreciated!

Also having thieves is great. I love stealing equipment that was already going to drop after the boss' defeat so I get it twice. Double Mage and Prayer rings, baby! (Please never fix this)

But not as appreciated as the changes to Celica's latter half of the story (Conrad helps more in the background instead of saving Celica from situations that literally didn't exist in Gaiden, that fucking slap that I hate doesn't happen, Jedah is both more cunning in manipulating Celica which, I actually didn't have a problem with how it happened in 3DS Echoes but this is still better, he acts more "concerned" about the state of Duma and the fate of Valentia instead of going MWHAHAHAHA I'M EVIL and the confrontation that leads to acquiring Falchion is entirely replaced with one that gives Celica agency instead of fridging her). I love feminism.

Speaking of feminism, the hack does its best to address Echoes' horrendous misogyny. There are the changes to Celica's story I already mentioned, but also more minor touchups like that one Mathilda CG being completely redone and changing Sonya's ending to be more optimistic.

Faye in particular got supports with her childhood friends (actually they all support each other now. The fact it wasn't the case in the original is kinda ridiculous), her support with Silque got rewritten which thank Mila, and she is no longer doomed to perpetually yearn for Alm to the point of ghosting her family in her ending.

The hack goes the route of almost completely removing her obsession with Alm to make her more of a romantic and nostalgic girl who cares deeply about her friends and village and wary of everyone else. It's not exactly my favorite interpretation of her, I like having her obsession with Alm be something she has to grow out of, but it's one I can respect all the same.

Sacred Echoes doesn't completely fix the original's sexism, most of the female units still get kidnapped and imprisoned after all, but I understand you'd need to rewrite the whole game to fix that.

The new characters are neat (although Hyas has the same trouble I have with Atlas in og Echoes, which is that he's way too underleveled for the time you recruit him so I seldom used him and Atlas both), and I like the new scenes added to the game! The RGB trio in particular got quite a bit of focus which, yeah. Can you tell they're the lead creator's favorite? (Not a criticism, mind you. I actually like the personal touch!)

So, is this a replacement for Echoes? No, nor do I think it was ever meant to be. This hack oozes with love for the original game from every corner, and every change feels made out of a want for it to be even better. And there's still plenty of reasons to play the original Echoes! The wonderful voice acting, Hidari's artwork, combat arts and explorable villages and dungeons and much more!

Sacred Echoes is very much meant to stand beside it and not replace it, and I heavily recommend you play it whether you played the original game or not!

As a bonus, check out the project leader @hypergammaspaces's blog! He has made quite a few posts talking about Sacred Echoes' development and changes and they're a really interesting read!

Download the hack here:

I have installed FEH again after almost two years, they have added many things that I am barely understanding (and others that I have not cofcof I have seen images of the heroes in the bedrooms and in gardens and I still do not understand how to access that cofcof)

Man, I even shed tears in some parts of Book III (still knowing much of the story from spoilers)

But I liked the game, the orbs still stress me out but I liked what it takes in its 3 years.

Something that I do not understand is the hatred that I have seen towards Alfonse, I have loved his character and I am in the process of having a support with him (leave my boy alone pls, he deserves to ve happy)