FE7 Ironman part 1
Fire Emblem 7 is a fun tactical RPG game, with permadeath being a really interesting part of the game. You can still reload the save and repeat the chapter though, which let's you forget about the fact that you've lost your units.
Here is where the Ironman challenge comes in. It is a self-imposed challenge that takes away your ability to reload. Every mistake is permanent – every lost unit, every missed item, there is no turning back. And if you game over for any reason... well, time to start from the very beginning.
This is actually my second attempt at this – I've lost Hector on my first try on Chapter 15, then I've realized that I ain't gonna fuck around with Lyn normal mode again, which is a tutorial consisting of TEN chapters. I've found and applied a patch that unlocks all modes of play from the get go – so I am starting with Lyn's Hard mode, in which the only difference is that I am not forced to go through movements forced on me by the tutorial windows once again. As for what will follow the Lyn mode... I think I will go for Hector Hard mode for maximum pain possible in this game.
Prologue
Simple map, nothing to say except that I've predictably used one vulnearly and less predictably Lyn got a strength level up.
Chapter 1
Sain and Kent join in this chapter, and they are immediately powerful units by the virtue of being Cavaliers. 7 movement, ability to use both swords and lances, good stats, and absolutely broken promotion into Paladins later on. I will want to try to reach level 10 with at least one of them before the end of Lyn's mode, since they can use the sole promotion item available in this mode, which would be otherwise wasted on an Armor Knight named Wallace.
I decide to focus more of my efforts on Sain, since he has more strength. This does require me to shuffle around my items a bit, since Sain starts with no sword to dispatch the enemy axe units, but still.
Sain got two pretty mediocre levels, but oh well.
Chapter 2
This is the first chapter I can do boss abuse on. There is a source of infinite HP for me – that is, forts regenerating HP – and the boss is sitting on a throne, which also regenerates HP. But I am a busy (and slightly impatient) man, and I ain't got time for spending few hundred turns on this map.
Other than that, this chapter is pretty uneventful. Lyn gets her Prf weapon, Mani Katti, which is solid enough for this stage of the game, and that's about it.
Chapter 3
We get a Pegasus Knight (for some reason shortened as Peg Knight which deals me psychic damage, especially considering obvious yuri undertones involved here) named Florina, and an archer named Wil. T he first unit is a relatively solid flyer, but requires a bit of training – the second is your average archer – that is to say, meh at best.
I buy one iron lance and two iron swords here.
Lyn levelled up strength here, which is actually nice, and ahead of average.
Chapter 4
Ah yes. A mission to protect an NPC – and yet in practice you can kinda go out and kill all these bandits. There is a recruitable unit on the enemy side – Dorcas, who is an axe unit that can't hit a stationary target – and since there aren't too many enemy lance units at this stage of the of the game, he is further disadvantaged by the weapon triangle mechanic. Yay. Still, a new unit is a new unit.
Cavalier duo destroys most of the bandits on their own because they are just that good... tho Sain's level ups are not exactly impressive at this point.
Kent got a bit too close to getting wrecked though, and Dorcas surprisingly hit every single hit he tried to make, so that was interesting.
At the end of this chapter, I have the following units: Lyn (lv6), Kent (lv3), Sain (lv6), Florina (lv3), Wil (lv3), Dorcas (lv3)
Chapter 5
Finally, a cleric to save our waning amount of vunlearies!
Sain's level ups caught up to the expectations, and he's the expected paragon of destruction now. I buy a javelin in the armory for Florina, and Lyn got an absolutely garbage level up – literally just HP+1.
At the end of this chapter, I have the following units: Lyn (lv7), Kent (lv3), Sain (lv7), Florina (lv3), Wil (lv3), Dorcas (lv3), Serra (lv1), Erk (lv1)
Chapter 6
In this chapter we are introduced to Rath, a Nomad and Matthew, a Thief. Both of them are really useful units – Rath is a mounted bow unit with actually respectable stats, and Matthew is a Thief.
We also obtain Angelic Robe, a consumable item that permanently increases max HP of the unit by 7. I give it to Sain to make him even more busted.
At the end of this chapter, I have the following units: Lyn (lv7), Kent (lv4), Sain (lv7), Florina (lv4), Wil (lv3), Dorcas (lv3), Serra (lv1), Erk (lv1), Rath (lv7), Matthew (lv2)
Chapter 7
The plot moves forward, and we get two new recruits – Lucius, a Monk, and Nils, a definitely normal Bard with no supernatural origins involved. Both units are solid, tho Lucius is very likely to fall off without being spoonfed some XP.
Bard is a reskinned version of a Dancer class that is commonly found in FE games – as dumb as it sounds, they allow other units to move twice (relevant: https://youtu.be/eaSBkLgwgAo). Needless to say, it is an extraordinarily good effect.
Florina is getting great level ups.
At the end of this chapter, I have the following units: Lyn (lv7), Kent (lv4), Sain (lv8), Florina (lv5), Wil (lv3), Dorcas (lv3), Serra (lv1), Erk (lv1), Rath (lv7), Matthew (lv2), Lucius (lv3), Nils (lv1)
Chapter 7x
The first gaiden chapter, which of course I am embarking on cause, you know, more XP.
Sadly I can't steal an extra lockpick from this chapter because of insufficient speed of Matthew, but it doesn't matter in the long run.
Sain has almost hit level 10 on this chapter, missing out by 1 XP. However, it doesn't really matter much, cause it is pretty much settled at this point that he will get that promotion into Paladin in time.
At the end of this chapter, I have the following units: Lyn (lv7), Kent (lv4), Sain (lv9), Florina (lv5), Wil (lv3), Dorcas (lv4), Serra (lv2), Erk (lv1), Rath (lv7), Matthew (lv2), Lucius (lv3), Nils (lv1)
Chapter 8
An annoying chapter, solely beause of the ballista right in the middle threatening Florina. Still, she can go and get the village in the top right corner of the map, while still keeping herself safe from the ballista. Rest of the army will just rush down, with Sain leading the fray.
I have seriously overextended Kent and put him out of commission though – which honestly sucks, but well, I will get him back on chapter 15. Still, this will make the rest of Lyn mode a bit harder, and Kent will be with just level 5 and somewhat average stats... and then Sain got critted by the boss, wasting all my effort levelling him up. Fuck. There goes my godly Paladin with an insane strength stat.
After losing Sain, I have no clue how to proceed with this map. I put out Lyn forward, thinking to myself that in the worst case I will just restart the run. This didn't happen.
At the end of this chapter, I have the following units: Lyn (lv8), Florina (lv5), Wil (lv3), Dorcas (lv4), Serra (lv2), Erk (lv1), Rath (lv8), Matthew (lv2), Lucius (lv4), Nils (lv1)
“Dead” units: Kent, Sain.
I need a break.