All Hail the RNG!! or Coaching Gamblers

I have been playing a fair bit of Fire Emblem lately, and I started to wonder about it's distinct appeal. I really can't think of other games that I play in the same way as it. I do like other tactics games, like the Final Fantasy Tactics games and the Disgaea series, but I always return to Intelligent System's second party series.  And I think I may have pinpointed why. If you know how Fire Emblem works, skip the next few paragraphs until you see " So, knowing all of that mechanical crap, ". It'll be considerably shorter, but more convenient.

Some explanation of the basic mechanics of Fire Emblem: The game is about a fantasy band of heroes lead by a central character, who is often a lord of some description. You command them in a series of grid based tactical missions against other armies. They come in a large variety of classes, often with the potential to upgrade into another, better class as the characters gain experience and level up. There are distinct statistics to keep track of, a rock paper scissors relationship of weapon types, and magic on top of that. This is a fairly easy concept to understand for someone fairly game literate, and is far less complicated than other iterations of the genre. But it has three fairly important elements that make it distinct and compelling.

First, instead of a stable of customizable troops, each recruit is a distinct character. While the game rarely takes the time to define the characters in the main plot, there is always some flavor for every character, either through optional scenes or Support Relationships. Support Relationships, or Supports, are conversations that characters can have with each other. Usually there are only 3 for each pair, and the characters gain bonuses for remaining near characters they have a Support with.

Second, the benefits of leveling up are somewhat random. How this is achieved is through what is known as an individual growth rate. A character has a growth rate for each statistic, which determines the percentage chance that a particular stat will increase by 1 at every level. Growths are rarely higher than 60% for an important skill, say Strength for a career Axeman, but there are definitely stats that a character is more or less likely to gain. But, there is always the chance that the aforementioned Axeman may not get an increase to Strength in 5 levels.

Third, Statistics in Fire Emblem are small, easy to understand numbers, as you can see in the screenshot of Rolf above. The equations for determining what a statistic does are also very easy and predictable. For instance, if an attack hits an enemy, then the damage is the strength of the weapon and your character's strength statistic, minus their defense. There are a few other potential modifiers, such as the weapon triangle (that rock paper scissors thing) and Supports, but they don't add a whole lot of complexity. The highest a character's strength can usually get is somewhere in the mid to high 20's, so its pretty easy to calculate everything.

So, knowing all of that mechanical crap, why does that make Fire Emblem so compelling? Because it makes every level a tense experience. Since your stats are fairly small numbers, every level matters a lot for a character's overall effectiveness, and their role on the battlefield. The random chance of getting stats you need means that the Cavalier you have been trying to nurture for half of the game is rendered entirely useless by the Random Number Generator, or RNG.

Oh Godammit!

On the other hand, every character could potentially be extremely lucky, and become a godly machine of death.

Keep in mind that Mist here is a healer.

This element adds a lot of replayability to the game, making each playthrough result in a different final team out of your gang of plucky heroes. The various combinations create a different net of potential Supports, allowing for a different character driven story to supplement the main plot. And there is always the chance of a once in a lifetime roll of the dice, resulting in terrifying creatures of majestic death dealing prowess.

Every number glowing green is a stat that is maximized. Just... wow.

This potential for a crazed endgame party of monstrous power is what keeps me coming back to this game, coaching these little fantasy characters through their adventures over and over, rolling the dice to see if they finally come up Death God. Because I want to see my healer beat the crap out of the final boss too.

Header image courtesy of Photobucket, others from Fedule's Fire Emblem : Path of Radiance Lets Play