Simply by going through the maps in the game, the player understands why Jagen is there and why he is the way he is without any need to explain. Not only does this add realism to this character, it also gives him a role in the narrative crafted through the gameplay. He’s there to assist when he needs to, but he’s also not meant to remain on the battlefield for much longer. Now, as an older man, he’s meant to pass the torch along to the next generation of soldiers that Marth recruits. There’s nothing more for Jagen to learn as a soldier because he’s already much past his prime and has already spent decades training. However, it’s through these numbers that give Jagen his own narrative. “Jeigan” was the name used in the fan translation for the original Fire Emblem Because of how static Jagen is, he will rapidly become replaced by other units such as the younger Cavaliers Cain and Abel who have much more potential. Jagen is unique by having his highest growths be 10% some stats such as Strength and Skill and 0% in several others such as Luck and Defense. Marth has a 90% of his HP going up, so for every level, 9 times out of ten the stat will go up by one point. In Fire Emblem, the stats going up are dependent on chance, and each character was a built-in percentage for each stat going. However, his drawback comes in the form of his growths. He’s easily able to dispatch any of the enemies that threaten the weaker units such as Marth or Caeda. Depicted as an old man approaching his 60’s, Jagen starts out with high stats and in a 2nd-tier class. ![]() ![]() The first example comes from the very beginning of the game with the elderly Paladin, Jagen. In order to get around this wall, Fire Emblem used a more nuanced method of characterization to flesh out the minor characters: the stats and growths of a unit. Unfortunately, due to the limitations of the system, all the characters not relevant to the plot receive no dialogue or interactions to flesh them out after their introduction scene. Throughout the game, he recruits several characters of varying backgrounds to join his army, and these are the units that follow him into battle. Originally released in April 20th, 1990, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light told the story of the Marth, prince of the kingdom of Altea trying to regain his kingdom and calm the seas of war in the continent of Archanea. Gameplay cannot simply be ignored due the nature of the medium.įire Emblem is an example of one of the series that manages to marry these two elements together in a natural way. Player input and the decisions he makes throughout the game is a significant part of the narrative that ends up developing throughout game time. While it’s possible for a perfectly coherent and satisfying narrative to come from games that segregate these two core elements, an essential part of what makes video games unique is lost. As described in The Play Versus Story Divide in Game Studies: Critical Essays, it is stated, “…in emphasizing only the game’s story the question of what the player does is shunted aside.” Another is when a character in battle can take hits from mythical creatures and deities but dies to a stab wound from a sword during a story event. For example, when a character dies in a cutscene and cannot come back to life with a revival spell or item it makes the player question why these tools they receive during the gameplay cannot apply to the story. ![]() In video games, particularly in RPGs, the story and the gameplay exist on two isolated planes due to their contradictory nature. Fire Emblem’s Use of Numbers to Tell its Story
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