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Last time, on Fire Emblem 4...



But then...





And THAT'S when...





And finally...





Original thread is here, so...

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ANYWAY! Lord Dannan's gone on the offense, Johalva and Johan are dragging their sorry butts to the battlefield, and a bunch of villages are getting trashed by some MBandits; so we'd better hurry. But first, a cutscene!







Don't laugh Arthur; I really like that woman ...

Arthur: Heh heh... You call your pegasus Mahnya?

Fee: Arthur, would you quit already? Look, we’ve made it this far so put a lid on it!

Note that the second half of Fee's sentence was omitted in the patch. In addition to what she told Arthur here, she was ALSO supposed to say something like "Honestly! I didn't even want to GO to Isaac! [Therefore, you don't have any right to complain when YOU'RE the one that wanted this trip to start with".

Arthur: Uh... sorry, Fee. I’ve only got a bit further to go. How about I walk from here?

Fee: Where are you going anyway?

Arthur: Alster.

Fee: Alster!? Are you nuts? Alster is way down south. You gotta cross the sea to get there! You’re not walking, that’s for sure!

Arthur: I don’t mind walking. I’m not really in any hurry anyhow.

Fee: Why do you need to go to Alster anyway?

Oh, oh, oh! Is this some more of that brilliant FE4 exposition?! Why, yes it is~!

Arthur: I think my sister is there.

BAM! Character motivation!

Arthur: We were separated a long time ago.

BOOM! Tragic backstory!

Arthur: She and my mom were taken from me when I was young.

WHAM! Childhood!

Arthur: I grew up on my own in Silesia’s backwoods.

POW! Adolescence! And now...

Arthur: Once I heard my sister was seen in Alster, that’s all it took.

KER-BLAM!! The character has now been established! Everything we needed, all crammed into JUST. FIVE. LIIINES !! Not since Gong's intro in Shining Force have I seen such masterful storytelling!

Fee: Huh, that’s just like me. You see, I haven’t seen my brother in a long time.

Arthur: Were you two also separated?

Fee: No, we were together in Silesia until he left to go look for our father.

Arthur: Your father?

Fee: Yeah, he’s missing. My mum waited for him for the longest time...

Arthur: What’s she doing now?

Fee: She got pretty sick, and, well... she passed away.

Arthur: Gosh... Sorry to ask such a dumb question.

Fee: It’s alright. I thought you were kinda dumb anyhow. Hahaha...

Arthur: Haha... Hey, I’m not such a bad guy, you know.

Fee: Yeah, maybe not. So what’re you going to do?

Arthur: Hmm... good question. Hey, what did you come here for?

Oh, is it time for an encore?

Fee: I came because I want to see if I can join Isaac’s liberation army.

BAM! CHARACTER MOTIVATION!

Fee: When I was little my mum used to tell me about Sigurd, the Holy Knight, and his brave warriors.

BOOM! CHILDHOOD!

Fee: Their story really stuck with me, and now Sigurd’s son is leading an uprising in Isaac.

BOOM! ADOLESCENE! Aaaaaaand....

Fee: I thought this was my calling, so I grabbed my stuff and shot out of Silesia.

WHAAAM!! CURRENT MISSION!!



Arthur: Wow, that’s great. You know I appreciate the ride and all... How about I join you for a bit?

Fee: You bet! It’s been my pleasure. So I guess it’s you and me, partner!

Arthur: Yep, I’m afraid so... Hahaha!

Horribly dry exposition dumps aside...I really do like this conversation. Fire Emblem 4 tends to focus on the "big picture" way more than it does on the little things; everything's always so grand and dramatic and everything that sometimes it's nice to just have a plain, regular ol' conversation like this. I mean, yeah, they yammer on for an awfully long time, but...I like the dynamic they have here. They're just two strangers riding around, playfully taking jabs at each other while also getting in some good conversation about what their motivations are.

I REALLY don't get why the writers felt the need to rush their exposition like that though. THESE two don't even GET any more lines in the main story! This is it! The rest of their dialogue can only be found in the Talk conversations; so why not save their backstories for those? At least then, the two can develop their own characters at a reasonable pace, rather than...whatever the heck we just read up above. Aye basura...

Anyways, here's how they perform as units:

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Arthur Overview

Fee Overview

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And back to the map itself.





No chance of Charge activating here; I already left Lester below 25 HP last update, so that Delmud could kill the bandit instead.





Delmud can kill him, steal his Gold, AND visit the village all in one go!



As for our two magic users, Julia is unarmed and Lana is a healer; so Lakche's gonna need to draw the heat off of them. But Lakche herself ain't immortal either, so we still want them close enough to where Lana can use Libro from afar.

Speaking of Julia and Lana; here's their Talk conversation!





Lana: Well, His Highness is pretty concerned about you. But if you have any problems, come to me. Okay?

Julia: Thank you.

Lana: I also have this for you.

Julia: This is a Relive Staff, isn’t it?

Lana: Yes, it is. You know how to use it, don’t you?

Julia: I do! Thank you so much, Lana. Now I can help out a little, too.

Lana: I hope so, Julia. Let’s you and I stick together!

Will do Lana! Not as though the battlefield's getting any LESS dangerous.





Now, back on the subject of Lakche...





Remember how Johalva and Johan were all freaking out about how they had to fight Lakche? Well THAT'S because those two have fallen head over heels for her! They're SO smitten by her, in fact, that Johan or Johalva will actually go to our side when Lakche talks to one of them! Their castle will turn green instead of red, and so will all their cohorts!

But there's a catch. You can only recruit one of them. Once you recruit one, the other will become your permanent enemy; and if we're JUST talking AAAA Rank Runs, I think Johalva is better, for reasons I will get into when I recruit him.





Speaking of Johalva; this is a wonderful opportunity for level grinding Lakche if she doesn't have Elite like mine does. This is because...

code:

1) Johalva will never attack Lakche, so she'll never kill him.

2) Lakche can ORKO all of Johalva's men with the Silver Blade.

3) They've got almost no chance of hitting her on a Mountain.

4) Lana's nearby to heal her with the Libro Staff.

5) Johalva will fetch ANOTHER group once the first one dies.

6) Lakche can kill the MBandit on the western village.


So one could potentially kill all the Axefighters from the Mountains, follow Johalva back to his castle, and then kill off the second group as well. I'm not going to be doing that though, because I do have Elite.



Back to Celice; he's gonna steam roll Johan, capture Isaac, get the Rezire tome for Julia (more on that later), and carve a path of destruction all the way to Rivough. However, one could also choose to recruit Johan, kill Johalva instead, capture HIS castle, and then get the Aura Tome for Julia before trekking across the mountains.

Or, if you REALLY want to, you can recruit Johan, let Schmidt and his men storm Isaac (which will have turned green), RE-capture Isaac (which will turn it green), and then march all the way back to Sophara in order to seize THAT (for it will have stayed red). Because remember; you get 1000G for every castle that YOU control at the end of the Chapter. Neutral castles (green) don't count toward that total; only player controlled ones count. So by taking both castles, you'll get an extra 1000G for each and every one of your units!

And no, this will NOT decrease your Tactics Rank; that only happens if the A.I. captures one of YOUR castles, not a neutral one. Believe me, I confirmed this by watching completed AAAA Rank Runs on Nico Nico Douga; both of the ones I watched actually take advantage of this!



Buuuuuuut... We're not going to be doing that. Johalva far better than Johan in an AAAA Rank Run; and the A.I. can't capture HIS castle without also getting one of OURS in the process! And THAT, my friends, WILL drop the Tactics Rank!





Oh yeah, and Fee's got the Berserk Sword. It has a [30 – enemy’s Res]% of inflicting Berserk on whosoever it hits; and also a 100% chance of working on anyone with MORE than 30 Res! That...will actually come into play WAAAY later on; but for now, it's a moot point. Berserk won't actually stop the MBandit from attacking the village. So for now...



We're focusing on Celice's rampage; and for that, we sold the Slim Sword, fixed up the Hero Sword a bit, and also got the Light Sword and Magic Ring out of storage. Johan's team doesn't have any Hand Axes, but Schmidt's team DOES; we don't want to miss out on getting THEIR EXP!





Speaking of enemies; Johalva's men are now attempting to subdue Lakche.



With...less than success. In fact, they might've start ignoring her ENTIRELY had her Spd and Lck gains been higher!

And no, Johalva and Johan never attack Lakche. They WILL however attack Celice next turn.



Right after this poor fool pulls an Anakin.



Except instead of getting his arm cut off and getting hurled across the room by lightning bolts, the guy just loses his head instead. Not really sure who was better off for it.





Our turn!



Now let's get things started with...





Uhh...yeah. Holsety. This is uh... really interesting game design going on here. Man, good thing Levin couldn't pass down Pursuit as well...







So let's do some general movement and utility...



Let's heal up...



Let's kill some guys...



And let's go visit this village.



Johan is the lord at Isaac Castle, and Johalva is the lord at Sophara. They both have a thing for Lakche of your army. Always quarreling those two... But they’re both basically good boys. I bet they’d even join up with you all.

HA HA HA HA HA! Well, he's right about them wanting to join up with us, but...



...The game kind of throws a wrench into the "good boys" part, through questionable writing. You'll...see what I mean later.





For now, let's just beat up some bad guys!



Let's let the last remaining survivor kill himself off first...



Prompting Johalva to try to retreat...



And then we'll have Johan and his men suiciding en masse



Johan: To die by my hand, you should feel flattered.



Johan: Lakche, our love is eternal...

I seriously don't know why these two have some of the lines they do. Johan flat out admitted here that the Rebel Army is in the right here... So why's he saying stuff like "you should feel flattered to die by my hand?" Johalva's lines SEEM a bit more neutral at first...

VS. JOHALVA

Johalva: I will not hand over my castle! You rebels...I'll beat the crap out of you!

JOHALVA DIES

Johalva: Argh... Lakche... I'm sorry...

But even he doesn't come off that well when you see his reaction to Johan being recruited.



Johalva: I'm gonna take him out! Men, stay alert!

And then he just goes berserk; for the REST of the chapter. There's no recruiting him, no pacifying him with Lakche...No, he's perfectly willing to just keep being a jerkwad. He won't actively target Lakche, but he'll never be recruited either. And of course, Johan's the same way...



Johan: Eiyah! Attack!!

Then when they fight each other...



JOHALVA VS. JOHAN

Johan: Sigh... Johalva... It makes me sad to have a little brother as foolish as you.

Johalva: You’re the foolish one, but that’s irrelevant. I knew that this day would come sometime! Now let’s finish this!

Johan: As you wish!

That happens, and it's just like; "are they really supposed to be the good guys?" They're both well aware that they're the bad guys in this! If they love Lakche so much that they'll outright ditch their homeland, then why would it MATTER if their brother has already converted first?! Doesn't Johalva realize that if he attacks the Rebel Army, he's attacking Lakche, regardless of whether or not Johan is already with her? Jeez louis...





And I know why the game is doing this. There's an archtype in the Fire Emblem series known as the "Samson & Arran" archtype; it involves two warriors who REALLY hate each other. They hate each other so much, in fact, that you can only have one of them at a time in your army; you give up one of them forever by recruiting the other. Kaga knows that this is a cool concept, so that's the scenario he's attempting to create hear.

But right now, he's doing it at the expense of these two characters. Both of them are supposed to be "basically good boys" who also have a number of funny moments involving Lakche; but now? They're coming off as a pair of violent idiots who care more about fulfilling their own personal vendettas than doing what's right. It might've been better if we at least knew WHY they hated each other so much...but we never will. The game seems to expect you to just forget about all this the moment you leave this chapter, and I don't know why. It makes them both look worse than Kaga probably intended.



But oh well; let's see what the villagers have to say.



We are forever indebted to his father for saving our Prince Shanan!

The ending of Chapter 5 can give the impression that Sigurd didn't accomplish anything worthwhile, despite his best intentions. So I like this dialogue as a reminder that everything you do matters, regardless of how things seem at the moment. Seemingly innocuous things will wind up having far reaching consequences, not just for you, but for people who don't even seem like they'd be affected by your actions. That's one of the things I found so fascinating about Breaking Bad, for example.



Heck, Sigurd may very well have saved the world by sparing Shanan, now that I think about it. His son now has the good will of the people, Shanan himself has grown into a really powerful warrior, and well...Shanan's survival might actually have been what kept the citizens going for all those years. What better way for an oppressed people to persevere than the promise that someone from their royal family will eventually deliver them from their oppressors?



Anyway, here's Johalva!





Lakche: At least, I was relieved that you never hurt any of the women or children. I wish we didn’t have to fight...

Johalva: Yeah. Well, I was never into pushin’ people around like my brothers. And I’ve had about all I can handle of the Lopt Sect. People say they’ve been sacrificing children right here in Isaac. My father just lets them walk all over him. I’ve had it with them! Lakche... just say the magic word and my squadron and I’ll join up with you.

*awkward silence as Johalva realizes his 'squadron' is already dead*

Lakche: Are you serious!? Johalva, you’re wonderful! ...I definitely had it wrong about you all this time.

Johalva: Yeah, well, I’m no angel. This is my chance to make amends. You lot! From this point forward we are an army of liberators fighting for love and justice!!

So that's Johalva's recruitment text. But if we talked to Johan instead...





Johan: Your words soothe like a bird’s song... You eyes sparkle like stars in the sky... The thought of being without you I cannot bear.

"Why, I'd KILL to be with you!"

...

"No, really; I would actually kill to be with you."

Lakche: Stop! You’re grossing me out! You’re on the battlefield, you know. Don’t lose it here!

Johan: My unremitting love for you is strong enough to cross the bounds of insanity! Let our troops know we’re taking sides with the liberation army! From this day forward we’ll be fighting for love, justice... and Lakche!

Yeah, he's basically a meaner version of Sain; and Lakche clearly isn't as thrilled with him as she is with Johalva. That's one of the reasons I prefer recruiting Johalva; however, the MAIN reason is because he's much better in the Arena than Johan. Why's that?

Well...I'm not going to do the overviews for MOST of the people this update (because it's already really long, and there's WAY too many of them); but we'll make an exception for Johan and Johalva. The game forces you to pick one or the other, so...let's take a look, shall we?





Level 12 Axe Fighter
Parents: N/A

HP: 42 (110%) Spd: 16 (10%)
Str: 16 (40%) Lck: 5 (10%)
Mag: 0 (0%) Def: 14 (60%)
Skl: 7 (50%) Res: 1 (5%)

Move: 6
Weapon Ranks: A Axes
Promotion Bonuses: +3 Str, +0 Mag, +2 Skl, +2 Spd, +2 Def, +3 Res, B Bows
Items: Steel Axe
Skill: Charge
Holy Blood: Minor Neir



Level 12 Axe Knight
Parents: N/A

HP: 40 (110%) Spd: 12 (50%)
Str: 15 (40%) Lck: 5 (10%)
Mag: 0 (5%) Def: 12 (60%)
Skl: 10 (20%) Res: 1 (5%)

Move: 8
Weapon Ranks: A Axes
Promotion Bonuses: +5 Str, +0 Mag, +1 Skl, +1 Spd, +4 Def, +3 Res, +1 Move
Items: Steel Axe
Skill: Ambush
Holy Blood: Minor Neir

Aside from Johalva having +2 extra HP, the two end up with basically the exact same stats at Level 30. Johalva will have higher growths in areas he's initially weaker in, Johan's promotion gains will make up for any disadvantages he starts with, and etc.

So the real question is "who's more useful at base level?" If all you're doing is a regular playthrough, then Johan is obviously a better choice. His base stats are actually really good compared to some of your other units, Ambush can be good in a pinch, and the Hero Axe will be attained very shortly from Schmidt. And of course; cavalry units are as valuable as they ever were.

But if you're going for an AAAA Rank playthrough, things are completely different. Having 2+ HP, 1+ STR, and +4 SPD is far better than having +3 SKL; but more importantly, Johalva gains access to Bows upon promotion. That is absolutely crucial; most Bows weigh 8 WT, while most Axes weigh 18 WT. And though the Hero Axe is lighter at 12 WT, the Killer Bow measures at 3 WT while also granting the Critical skill! So even with Johan's superior SPD gains, his offense will always trail behind Johalva's. Plus, Johalva's combat will consist entirely of Arena battles. Bows are exempt from the Weapon Triangle; so get him to LVL 20, get him a wife to share money with, and Johalva's pretty much set! No getting spanked by swordmasters for him!

So to sum it up, Johan's better for efficiency playthroughs, but Johalva's indisputably the better choice for AAAA Rank runs (unless you're using heavy RNG abuse to clear the Arena). Besides...



Look at this poor guy! The guy's so desperate, his text is actually flying off the textbox! I gotta help a brotha out!







Of course, not everyone's so thrilled with that prospect...



Dannan: Schmidt, you get out there. I want our castles back!

Schmidt: Yes sir. You can count on me.

This triggers the minute you recruit one of his sons, regardless of whether the other is alive or not. And once that happens...



Schmidt and his merry band come storming towards us. That's not a concern for Celice though.





Anyway, next player phase.



Lakche's gonna clear out that MBandit; so I'm gonna pair her up with Johalva (no, this doesn't violate my "no squicky pairings" rule; I'll explain why later) and get Lana staff EXP while I'm at it. As for the others...



Celice's sword arm flies ever closer to Isaac...



Lester follows close behind to get the village...



Arthur heads on up to snag the village near where Lakche's at...



And Fee ends our turn by going to a rather interesting village.



Yeah! We’ll finally be able to get rid of those creeps from the empire!

It's simple enough for most people. But if you visit the village with Celice...





As a little token of my appreciation I’d like ya t’take my granddaughter for yer wife.





Celice: S, stop it! Th, that’s not why I’m here!

Hahaha! It’s a joke, Sir Celice! J-O-K-E! You’re gettin’ red... How cute!

Celice: What am I going to do...

Well Celice, that depends. Does she have good Civilian skills? Good growth rates? Can she use staves? Does she have any children who can inherit your blades? Are there any Jealousy formations we can take advantage of? Does she have minor Neir blood or anything like that?

I know you think I'm kidding; but would YOU think any different?





Anyway, nothing new happens on enemy phase so...





Lester knocks his MBandit around a bit, hoping that he would proc one of his many skills (he didn't)...



Lakche turns her bandit into roadkill...





While enjoying the Knight Ring's effect...



Fee flies up closer to Lakche and Johalva so that she can start pairing up with Arthur (spoiler alert; they're one of my planned couples)



Johalva walks up to Lakche again while the other two ladies get closer to help with Jealousy Formation strats...





And Celice ends our turn by getting closer to Isaac. Nothing much happens on this enemy phase either, but next turn?



Things are gonna get REAL messy. Because now...





Now is the time to show off Celice's power .



First we axe this guy off (get it? Cuz he uses axes ?)...





Lakche and friends all gather around for a grand ol' time...



And Lester kills off the very last MBandit on the map.



That would sure make things easier on us if it were the case. Here’s a Skill Ring for you. Good luck out there!



Whoo-hoo! Lester has more trouble in the Arena than others, so this is more than welcome for him. Anyway...



IIIIIIIT'S CLOBBERIN' TIME !!





Whaacha! Down go the putties...





And down goes the leader!







Man, we're just getting started, and Celice is ALREADY about to promote. And people say he starts slow



Oh yeah, and that drops too.



Anyway, Dannan is the only one left. So let's see what Isaac's folks have to say!





Yes, they’re all ecstatic. They all believe that you’re going to liberate the country.

Celice: Well, I couldn’t have done any of this without the support of the people. They were the ones who helped me from the start...

"Oh and uh, the other guys on my team? Yeah, they helped occasionally; every so often."

This sure is a strange twist of fate. The former king of Isaac often turned to your grandfather for advice. Then your father rescued Prince Shanan only for the prince to turn around and save you. It’s funny how fate works, isn’t it?

Celice: Well, Isaac is like a second home to me. I hope the prince and I can remain friends forever.

Sir Celice, there isn’t a soul alive who doubts that you are the rightful successor to Grandbell’s royal house. In the name of justice you must push on through to Barhara!

This all seems pretty normal at first.



But, if you were to conquer Sophara instead...





We get an entirely NEW conversation!

Nope, we’re all just fine. Everyone is very excited you’re here!

Celice: Just give us a little more time. We WILL defeat King Dannan and regain control of Isaac.

Those sure are reassuring words. Do take care to not overdo yourselves. Sir Celice, you’re the last hope for all the peoples of the world. You are the only one who can free the world from darkness.

Remember; you don't HAVE to pick one or the other. You can easily conquer both these castles by recruiting Johan. Isaac will turn green, Schmidt will turn it red, and then you'd just take it back from him after snagging Johalva's. You can't do the reverse though; the enemies prioritize getting Ganeishire before getting Sophara.





Turns 18-21: Anyways, we're just gonna zip through now.



Once he gets his hands on the Divine Balmunk those rats of the empire won’t have a prayer! We’re driving them outta here!

Pfeh; you say that like the Uber Hero Sword isn't good enough already. Now...



I need Celice to move exactly 4 spaces west...



Julia needs to be warped on over to where Celice is...



The rest of em' must ASSUME THE JEALOUSY FORMATION!!



And now Julia'll have a nice chat with Celice.





Celice: Here, I’m giving you this. I picked it up at Isaac Castle.

Julia: What is it?

Celice: It’s a Book of Rezire. You can use it, can’t you?

Julia: Yes, I believe so.

Celice: Good. You should be able to protect yourself a little better out here now.

Julia: Thank you very much, sir.

That's what you get for conquering Isaac. But if you conquer Sophara instead, you get this:



Celice: Here, I’m giving you this. I picked it up at Sophara Castle.

Julia: What is it?

Celice: It’s a Book of Aura. You can use it, can’t you?

Julia: Aura... I’ve heard that somewhere before... Thank you very much, sir.

Oh the painful memories ...





Now as fitting as Aura would be, Rezire is what we want. It's loses by -10 Hit and -6 Might, but makes up for it by weighing 8 WT less than the Aura Tome! Plus, it drains HP just like Nosferatu does in later games. So if you want even more of a reason to use Johalva over Johan, well, there you go.

Unfortunately, Julia doesn't get a chance to show off her new combat capabilities; so for now, we'll have to settle for this overview ...

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Julia Overview

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Anyway, nobody else up north is doing anything so...



Here it is! The FINAL battle of Chapter 6!





Dannan: My father’s grudge... I will have his revenge!

Celice: King Dannan... Under your rule, many people have suffered and died. Now you must face the consequences.

Most thing Celice has ever said!

DANNAN VS. JOHAN

Dannan: J, Johan... That woman has turned you against me!?

Johan: Sigh... I pledged my life for her love. Forgive me, father...

Dannan: Y, you fool...

Sheesh; I know Dannan's kind of a jerk, but...THAT'S what helps you decide to kill your father ?

DANNAN VS. JOHALVA

Dannan: Johalva, you...! How dare you rise up against your father!!

Johalva: Sorry... I don’t want anything more to do with your evil deeds. It’s nothing personal.

Dannan: D, damn it...! Johalva!

DANNAN VS. EVERYONE ELSE

Dannan: Rebels! Don’t underestimate the Grandbell Empire!

Oh the Grandbell Empire is scary, don't get me wrong. But...you're not the “Grandbell Empire”, so...





You're already dead.





...Yeeeeah. We're uh...kind of out of villains here. Guess we'll just go through the rest of the optional dialogue? First we got one last Village (I don't get this in the main run)...



Thanks to you we have Isaac back. But the rest of the world still looks pretty grim. Everyone still suffering under the empire’s rule is waiting for Sir Celice to come save them. Please... you must make your way to Grandbell as soon as possible!

My, what a well informed young woman.



Now, one of the Substitute characters one could have is Dimna. He replaces Lester if Aideen never had kids; and he actually has his own special conversation in Isaac! Check THIS out!







Karen: Hey, I’m just glad to see you again. You look great!

Dimna: Thanks. Sir Celice set out to liberate the world from the empire’s tyranny and I’ve joined up with him. I can’t say I’ve been of much help yet.

Karen: Hmhm! That’s neat, Dimna. That’s a big change from the crybaby I once knew.

Dimna: Hahaha... Don’t you tell anyone that... I do still have a ways to go, though. I want you and the rest of the world to be able to live again in peace.

Karen: Wow. That’d be great, Dimna...

Dimna: What’s wrong? Did I say something?

Karen: No, it’s nothing. Here, I want you to have this necklace. I think you’ll find it useful.

Dimna: Where did you get it?

Karen: It’s a keepsake of my mothers. Wear it and you’ll get a little boost of power.

Dimna: I can’t take this from you!

Karen: No, my mother wants you to have it. She said the time has come to utilise its power. Please, take it.

Dimna: Thank you. I’ll be sure to bring it back when this war is over.

Karen: I’m sure you will, Dimna.

Dimna: Well, I better get going. Everyone’s waiting for me.

Karen: You take care now, Dimna!

And once Dimna leaves...



We get an INSANE STR boost!





I never knew just how much effort went into FE4's minor characters until I did this LP. I was fully expecting the Substitutes to just be palette-swaps of the real children, with barely any differences in what they said and did. But no; they actually have legitimate backstories! They have their own lives! This dude Dimna's got people waiting for him at home, regardless of whether or not we recruit Lester! It's to the point where I'm actually kinda starting to wish they'd have included these scenes for the Children characters too.



I mean heck; just look at THIS one here, with Lakche's Substitute (yes, it's a hacked save). These two are EXCLUSIVE to Radney; these never happen for Lakche! Just have one of the two axe brothers use the Wait command next to her for over 10 Turns, and...

Johan with Radney (+2 STR & +3 LCK for Radney):



Yep, here we go again.

Johan: I’ll always watch over you! Please don’t forget that!

Radney: ...

And Johalva gets in on the act too.

Johalva with Radney (+2 STR & +3 LCK for Radney):



Radney: ...

Fortunately, he plays it a lot cooler than Johan, so I think his chances are good. Anyway, here's all the rest of the conversations.

Celice with Fee (and Femina, but her dialogue's pretty similar; I'll put the differences in brackets)



Fee: Are you Prince Celice?

Celice: Yes, I am. And who might you be?

Fee: I am Fee [or Femina]. I came here from Silesia.

Celice: Silesia? Are you a Pegasus Knight?

Fee: [Well that depends. If I'm Fee, then I'd say... "No, but my mother was. She fought alongside Sir Sigurd in the last war". Otherwise, if I'm Femina, I'd basically just say "I'm still in training"].

Celice: Really? [Because if you're Fee, I'd say..."Well, on his behalf, thanks". Otherwise, I'd just skip this line]. So what made you come here?

Fee: Well, I initially set out to find my brother. But when I heard word of you taking on the empire, I made a little change in plans. Please, let me join your liberation army.

Celice: Hey, that’s fine with me, but what about your brother?

Fee: I have a hunch that we’ll run across him eventually.

And that really is it for the differences. There are very minor differences in wording here and there; but there's nothing else worth bogging down the pace of this update.

Celice with Arthur (this one literally IS the exact same between Child and Sub)



Arthur: How do you do, sir.

Celice: Who are you?

Arthur: I’m Arthur. I came from Silesia.

Celice: You’re Arthur? Thanks for lending us a hand!

Arthur: Not a problem.

Celice: It’s really great how you can use magic.

Arthur: Well, my mother was a warlock. I’ve personally still got quite a way to go though.

Celice: Yeah, we all do. But as long as we stay together... We all believe we can change the world. That’s why we set out in the first place.

Arthur: Sounds great. Look, I’ll do what I can to help out, sir. Glad we could finally meet.

And here's the last one; and for some WEIRD reason, it's only available when you conquer Sophara. It will NOT activate if you conquer Isaac instead. Rather odd, that...

Celice with Lana (+100 Love Points and +3 HP for Lana)



Celice: Lana, you shouldn’t be out here. It’s too dangerous!

"Nuns and warfare DO NOT mix!"

Lana: Oh, I’ll be alright.

Celice: Please, stay back for me, will you? You’re too easy a target for them.

Lana: But...

Celice: Lana, I’m just worried about you, that’s all.

Lana: ...okay, I’ll try.

Heh; seems Dimna's worrying over nothing. If this turns out to be Mana, then Celice's just as into HER as she is in him!

IF JULIA WAS KILLED AT ANY POINT





Note how the above music link is only 12 seconds long. There is complete silence after it ends.



Levin: Yeah, I just got back. Celice, the world is at a very volatile stage right now.

Celice: Huh? What do you mean?



Levin: The early days of the empire weren’t actually all that bad. Initially, Emperor Alvis applied constitutional law to govern the people. It was a bit constraining, but it was a peaceful time in Judgral’s history. But several years back the emperor did a complete about-face. He became very rigid with his rule and adopted oppressive governing tactics. Now the ominous Lopt Sect is back, and their influence has spread across the land. Sacrificial rituals have also reappeared. Children all over are being rounded up for the resurrection of the Loptian lord. And anyone who attempts to rise up is either enslaved or executed... It’s obvious now that they’re attempting to restore the Lopt Empire.

Celice: You’re serious? So the rumours I’ve heard are true after all.

Levin: Isaac is better off than most places. It sounds like Dannan’s two sons didn’t go through with any of the child hunts.

Celice: ...

Levin: Uprisings have sprung up all over the continent, but not one has gotten anywhere. None of them stand a chance against the empire.

And now; happy music.





Levin: You are the only one who has the power to pull it off.

Celice: Whoa! Wait a minute! I have nothing near what it takes!

Levin: It’s your duty, Celice. You are Empress Deirdre’s firstborn son... the older brother to Prince Julius. As a direct descendant of Saint Heim, you have an obligation to lead your crusaders and rid the world of darkness.

Celice: Yeah, but...

Levin: Celice, you DO have what it takes. You just don’t realise it yet. You’re of Baldo lineage. Once you get a hold of the Holy Tyrfing, you’ll have enough power to reach the heavens.

Celice: But...

Levin: Celice, it’s the will of the gods. Your father was a victim of foul play. And now you must finish what he started. You need to stay focused, Celice. You got me?

Celice: ...Yes, I do. If this is my destiny, I shall go forth wherever the gods lead me.

Levin: You’ll come to realise that fate is susceptible to change. It doesn’t centre on one person. Sigurd left much behind for you. Most importantly his friends... I being one of them. You can credit your father’s kindness for bringing so many good people to your side.

Celice: My father was loved and trusted by so many. I just hope I can live up to that.

Levin: You’ll be just fine, Celice. Okay, we need to make Lenster our next destination. The son of your father’s good friend Cuan took a stand against the government in Manster. But he is in dire need of some backup. We can leave Isaac in the hands of the people. We’d better get moving. We’ll meet up with Prince Shanan somewhere down the line.

Celice: Gotcha!



Alright, I think we'll call that an update!



Will Celice manage to become the scion of light that Jugdral yearns to rally around? Will he survive being pitted against all of the Empire's mighty men, experiencing harrowing fights in a world of fading hope? And what of the mystery girl Julia? What mysteries lay hidden beneath her gentle grey eyes? Find out, in the second half of Let's Play Fire Emblem 4! This is Fionordequester, signing out! Have a nice night, and God bless you all!

SUB CHARACTER OVERVIEWS

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Amid Overview

Femina Overview

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CURRENT AAAA RANKED RUN STATS:

Time Taken This Update: ~25 minutes and 35 seconds

Total Time Elapsed Over the Run: 15 hours, 1 minute, 52 seconds~

Turns Taken This Update: 12 Turns

Total Turns Elapsed Over The Run: 230 Turns

Levels Gained This Update: 19 Levels

Total Levels Gained: 569 Levels

Things I Regret: In the Prologue, I regret the fact that Noish had to hang back as I rigged levels for Sigurd in the Prologue.

In Chapter 1, I should've brought Midir to guarantee that Kinbois's men would be taken down without issue.

On Chapter 2, I regret the fact that Ardan built up so many love points with Aira even though that pairing's been written out of the route, I regret making that positioning mistake with Fin, and I wish I hadn't made that careless mistake with Sigurd attacking that guard near Boldo (even if it did end up working out). I regret deciding to not just get Deirdre to Level 30 by the end of Chapter 2. I regret wasting something like 12 minutes rigging Aideen a win against Keimos, when it ultimately didn't end up doing much for Jamka anyway. And I could have manipulated Dew's Gold a bit better so that Aira got just 18,000G instead of 22,470G.

On Chapter 3, I regret selling Deirdre's Aura tome! I'll bet she TOTALLY could've kicked Manfloy's butt, if ONLY I hadn't taken that away !!

On Chapter 4, I regret spending so much time disabeling the Arena bug for Fury's Arena fights; her combat stats didn't even matter once I promoted her! I also regret not having Claude turn around sooner. I also regret not repairing the Return Staff before giving it to Aideen.

On Chapter 5, I regret not having Dew sit tight after slaying that General; I didn't really accomplish much by moving him around outside, so I probably wasted about a minute or so.

Level 11-21: 45 > 59 HP, 12(17) > 20(25) Str, 6 > 13(18) Mag, 14 > 20 Skl, 12 > 16 Spd, 8 > 13 Lck, 12(17) > 16 Def, 4 > 8 Res!

Level 4-10: 33 > 42 HP, 11 > 14 Str, 0 > 1 Mag, 16 > 21 Skl, 15 > 17 Spd, 8 > 9 Lck, 8 > 12 Def, 0 > 1 Res!

Level 2-4: 30 > 32 HP, 3 > 4 Str, 9 Mag, 9 > 11 Skl, 8 Spd, 17 > 19 Lck, 2 > 3 Def, 7 > 8 Res!

Level 1-2: 30 > 31 HP, 10 > 11 Str, 1 Mag, 8 > 8(13) Skl, 9 Spd, 13 Lck, 8 Def, 0 Res!