Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia Part 3: Let's Do the Time Warp For the First Time

In which I explore the first DLC of Rise of the Deliverance




Before I continue the main story in this game, I discovered there were some extra downloadable content missions that are sort of prologues for the Deliverance (the rebels Alm is heading off to join), and I thought it would be fun to do them now, before I meet the rest of the Deliverance proper.

The first mission is "Zofia Harbor". Clive and Fernand have been dispatched by the king to save Slayde, after Slayde went to settle a dispute with the local traders who have closed the harbor.

Fernand is still a grumpy knight I see.

Fernand is in a fowl mood about the mission. Clive seems to be taking it all in stride. Fernand is mostly unhappy that he and Clive and the knights of Zofia have been sent in to clean up Slayde's mess.

Clive explains that the traders have been in rebellion against the king and closed the harbor. Slayde was sent to get the harbor open again, but apparently he messed it all up and now the knights have been sent in to help. Fernand grumbles about how if the knights had been sent in the first place they wouldn't be in this mess. Despite Fernand's displeasure with Slayde, he is glad that Clive didn't bring his sister Claire, as Claire would likely dismember Slayde in a bloody display of anger.

Ooh, Fernand backstory, he has a four year old sister and a five year old brother, whom he adores despite being uncomfortable with his father's remarriage 12 years after his mother died. I still think he's probably an arrogant ass, at least based on what little I've seen of him in the main game, but I'm glad he gets some depth here.

We arrive at the harbor, Fernand, Clive, two mounted Zofian Knights and a Zofian knight on foot. Slayde is across a bridge from us, surrounded by mercenaries.

Clive attempts to get a peaceful solution by demanding the traders surrender and order their mercenaries to stand down. The traders are not having it though, especially as the king seems to have ignored their pleas for help dealing with piracy when they tried the proper channels. Also they're starving from the draught and their taxes keep going up.

And of course the traders are mistrustful after the last knight just came and attacked without talking. Slayde what the hell man!?

Slayde, for his part, demands Clive ride in, save him, and butcher the mercenaries. I mean, I already knew I didn't like Slayde, so, this isn't helping his case.

Fernand calls Slayde a coward, and Slayde has the gall to be affronted by the accusation.

I like Clive's dry humor.

The fight is pretty simple, although I don't move fast enough to stop Slayde's two unnamed soldiers from dying. Clive absolutely dominates the field, killing most enemies in one turn. We get to Slayde's position and, after a bit of dialogue in which Fernand continues to hate Slayde (I'm with Fernand here) Slayde makes a break for it. We continue to kill mercenaries as they come to us.

Slayde pauses before leaving the map, considering that this could be an opportunity to get both Clive and Fernand killed. He doesn't like either of them. Fortunately he leaves in short order, and we finish the rest of the mercenaries.

After the fight, Clive says the traders have committed a crime, and will face the king's justice (although it is not his place to mete it out), but that he will bring their grievances to the king personally. The traders are happy enough with that solution. Too bad we had to kill a dozen mercenaries to get there.

As the knights leave, Fernand cautions Clive against making promises he can't keep. While Clive fully intends to "bend the knee and beg" the king allow the knights to take on the pirates, it sounds like Chancellor Desaix himself nixed that possibility earlier. Fernand thinks Desaix may be working with the pirates, but knows that between Clive and Desaix, Desaix's voice will be the one that wins out.

So yeah, I'm liking Clive. It will be interesting to see how he's changed in the main story assuming we meet him (and he doesn't die right when Alm gets to the Deliverance HQ). And I like Fernand better in this prologue. Maybe something happens to make him the arrogant and irritable man we met last session, or maybe that's just who he always has been around commoners like Alm and his friends. I hope we get to see more Claire though.

There are three more prologue DLCs to do, so next time! Whatever comes next!