When I decided to host the mega again a bit ago, I had no idea what to make it about (of course). So it fell between two topics: a post on the importance of sleep, or a post on just how much I love Fire Emblem: The Sacred Echoes. Well, I felt like the importance of sleep was well-known, and could always wait for the next time I host a mega. I wanted to make sure I hit the Sacred Echoes iron while it's hot, because I've almost finished my play through at this point, and it might genuinely be one of the best games I have ever played.
Sacred Echoes feels so polished, considering it's a fan-made romhack of Sacred Stones, with the goal of bringing the 3DS game, Shadows of Valentia (SoV), to the GBA. Everything about the game aesthetically is very well-done, from the portraits, to the battle sprites, and literally anything else that could be thought of about a game. This includes new character writing, which helps the game in areas where Shadows of Valentia was a little, well, off. That's what I want to go over first, and although I've made a post before, I had only played a little bit of the game. Being at the end, I've noticed more things, and grown to appreciate this game even more than I already did.
Let's start off with the relevant (and interesting) bits: Sacred Echoes actually does a really good job at representing a variety of backgrounds, while also being diverse in a way that doesn't feel like it's simply to have a token character. This game doesn't suffer from the cracker curse, for example. Although most of the characters are white, there is more than one person of color (
) . In terms of LGBTQ+ representation, it's even better. There are many gay/lesbian characters, whose sexuality actually plays a role in the plot and how they interact with others. There's also an aroace character, Lukas, who goes through a whole arc of self-discovery in his support conversations (support Python). It's good stuff, and not things I would normally expect from a Fire Emblem game. I hesitate to bring up the (possibly) only trans character in the game, Jesse. HOLD ON, NO HESITATION AT ALL! I just decided to do more research, and I wasn't just projecting. He is 100% trans, and it's in supports, and it's relevant to his plot and backstory, so it's just like the rest of them, thank goodness, I was worried he was a token. So yeah, support Clive and Jesse. Good stuff, and good luck getting to the end of the game so they can actually meet, one fights for Alm and the other for Celica...
This is Jesse
Here's some dialogue between Clive and Jesse, in the context of a will:
Clive: Only the following will be yours - your mother's wardrobe, her jewelry box, and all corresponding contents.
Jesse: Urgh. Even from halfway in the grave he's trying to tell me what to wear. So yeah, he's still the same tyrant he always was. Hasn't changed a bit.
In terms of character background, it's more diverse than one would think, and it addresses the issue of feudal class. Not all of the characters are nobles, and one of the main characters is a commoner from a random village. The plot regularly deals with the fact that nobles and commoners do not get along. However, it does not try to redeem most nobles. If they aren't proving themselves with their actions, they're probably shitty. Even if they are supposedly "one of the good ones", there's usually some underlying prejudice that comes out when you might not expect it. I love it so much, and I am extremely impressed that the plot doesn't try to redeem nobility as a whole, but rather allows the noble characters within the cast to have character development that feels less like justification and more like re-education.
Pictured is the class traitor Lukas absolutely destroying Fernand
For other details about the story, I'll link my original post. I don't want to drag this on too long, and I mention most of the improvements there. It also includes where to find the patch for the game, and how to play the game for yourself. If you enjoy SRPGs, or are new to the genre, I recommend this game. It has an easy mode for the newbies, and hard mode for those of us who hate ourselves (/s), and a normal mode for everything in-between 
The Echoes cast is amazing, and I love how they interact with each other and the world. Each character stands out, and they feel unique in their relationships with the other characters. Even characters that suffer in SoV, like Faye and the Masked Knight (has a name but it's spoilers), benefit from the Sacred Echoes writing, making them actually enjoyable characters. The villains of the game are also great. I don't want to go too deep, because I don't want to spoil too much, but they aren't just pure evil, and for that I applaud the SoV writers. Berkut is probably the highlight of the game, being the heir to the throne of the empire. I am once again asking you to play the game, because IT IS SO GREAT, and I would not have expected these good of villains to pair with Alm and Celica, as well as their armies.
Pictured is the Masked Knight being a gay little guy. The other guy (Saber) is threatening his life...
Everything about the game design is also amazing. It's GBA Fire Emblem, so the animations are peak and the pixel art is stellar. The maps are improved from the original SoV maps, and they are definetly much better, and much less repetitive. Classes in the game are fun in how they work, each character being able to promote 2-3 times. Mages also work really uniquely and well in this game, with spells costing HP to cast. They learn spells as they level up, rather than by purchasing tomes, which makes for (in my opinion), better gameplay. Sacred Echoes also adds the GBA weapon and magic triangles!
All in all, Sacred Echoes is a great game, and even if you never ending up playing it, you now know of its existence. It stands out as a great romhack, as well as a great Fire Emblem game, AND it has the gay. Can it really get better than that?
If you want my original (and more in-depth) analysis, check out my original post. It's mostly about what Sacred Echoes improves upon the original Shadows of Valentia.
Hope you enjoyed my little nerd-out session, and have a good week everyone! 
DOWNLOAD SACRED ECHOES: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/o9v75blehaid1re2i8qou/ALhV8LN1A59jdFIP6HYRH3c?rlkey=d7fl1m8qh9gl7ztmnim33euu1&e=1&dl=0
PATCH TO AN EXISTING SACRED STONES ROM: https://www.marcrobledo.com/RomPatcher.js/
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Sacred Echoes Character Appreciation Day 3: Celica (main character, plot spoilers)
Celica, Celica, Celica. Mila's strongest and most loyal soldier. Her character arc is pretty great, to be honest, and she's probably one of my favorite protagonists in the entire series. She's the daughter of Zofian king and deadbeat dad King Lima, but she was not raised in the castle. When she was young, the chancellor of Zofia performed a coup, burning down the a palace the royal family was staying at. The fire killed most of them, including her mother, but Celica managed to barely escape with her life thanks to the help of Mycen, who took her to the village where Alm lived. Those days she considered some of the best of her life, eventually becoming best friends with Alm. This was until she was found by the Zofian government, and was forced to remain hidden on an island priory throughout the rest of her life. This is where her story begins.Raised in the priory, she grew a strong attachment and devotion to the Divine Dragon Mila. The isolated environment also resulted in a pretty sheltered and naive nature, shown when she gives Saber a royal golden dagger in exchange for his services as a sellsword, in which the dagger was worth a lot more. This matters later on. Celica from this point on strong, kind, and willing to go out of her way to help others, even taking a huge detour in order to free a large area of land from a criminal overlord that had flourished under her father. She reaches the Temple of Mila, her destination, to find that Mila is gone, which was the reason that the lands had gone barren, the reasons she had left the priory in the first place. From there, she moves into Rigel, where she is met by a disguised Jedah. He tells her that only her blood, the blood of Mila's brand-bearer, can heal the Divine Dragons, whose fate is to slowly go mad. Duma, the other dragon, has reached this fate, with Mila approaching it herself. Celica, in her undying devotion to Mila, sees this as the only way to save Valentia. Her sacrifice in exchange for the life of gods, who could save man from their madness Well, it turns out Jedah was lying. After shutting everyone out, after realizing her lost brother was still alive, after he made her promise not to throw away her life, she still decided to throw it away. When she discovered that Jedah was lying, that he had taken advantage of her devotion to the gods and her naive nature in order to only save Duma, she went ballistic. Having lost all of her comrades to the dungeon below, Celica single-handedly took on Jedah, showing off her own power while also attempting to wield the Falchion, a sword that can seal a divine dragon away. Falchion was sealed, however, and Jedah bested her, leaving her broken and on the brink of death.
After Mila gives the Falchion to Alm (only the bearer of Duma' brand can properly wield it), he injures Jedah, who retreats. Mila then uses the last of her power to heal Celica, and here's where that growth starts to show. She confronts Jedah, who goes on about the need for gods to save the world, to look after humanity. Jedah is saying EXACTLY what Celica was throughout the game. In a way, Jedah is the parallel to Celica, his Duma, her Mila. Celica now knows that this is not the only way though, seeing that humanity must move on from the age of gods, and into the age of humanity. That they must be able to sustain themselves, so that they aren't at the whims of gods whose madness can destroy humanity. Boom, character development.
As you can see, there is a lot to Celica's character, and I kind of briefly went over how her character grows. There's a lot more to her, though, so you're just going to have to play the game and see for yourself! If you already have, try Sacred Echoes. It makes some changes to her character, and Conrad is much better so he doesn't make Celica seem worse!