Steele Emblem: Dark Heel & the Mask of Light [Atlas/Closed]

[Trent "Hyas" Cassidy]

An incredibly broad frame sat lightly contorted beside a plain, wooden desk. A moderate hum of a nearby machine echoed somewhat. The aforementioned machine, a computer of unknown origin, was idling as it displayed a modest collection of ROM files. Evidently, the lot of them were of the same franchise. Thankfully, they were only so wordy in name early on. Trent Cassidy, the "owner" of these files, thumped a finger against his temple as he thought to himself. The day was young, morning training had been completed, and today was a break day. Until afternoon training, Trent figured he'd play a strategy game or two to kill time.

Unfortunately, the question was: "Which one?". He had prepared all the emulators already, up to the fifteenth game in fact. The sixteenth game was still rather tricky. Even then, this computer was humming away when it was idling; Trent bet to himself that it could barely handle the fourteenth title. Then, an idea struck him. Trent knew for sure that The Man of Steele himself hadn't experienced these games yet. That'll do it. Cupping himself a hand to his lips, Trent called to the general direction he had last seen his mentor: Atlas Steele.

"HEY! ATLAS! D'YOU WANNA PLAY SOME FIRE EMBLEM?"

---

Hey, hey Atlas . Let's get stupid.

[Atlas Steele]

Dropping the Manual that he was reading upside down for the past moments, he would turn to the voice that had called him from upstairs as he would slowly get off his behind and walk to the stairs, hearing the planks slowly creak and squeak before taking in a deep breath at the sight of the sun that was visible outside, smiling contently before walking upstairs.

"OKAY, I READ THE BOOK THAT YOU GAVE ME." He proclaimed upwards, making his way to the closed door to the room before trying to pull it open as a push door, stumbling awkwardly before pushing inwards finally.
Giving an awkward complaint as he would then move over to one of the chairs modified for his rather extreme build.

"And I do not get what they mean with the fact that some of the people are born as crazy animals that can apparently use orbs they swallow? This makes absolutely no sense!" Before then looking towards the screen. "Okay, What is this going to be, You wanted to show me something, make it entertaining, I am willing to try." Trent "Hyas" Cassidy

[Trent "Hyas" Cassidy]

It wasn't long before the steely man made his entrance, no matter how awkward. Trent gave an observant stare as his mentor brought himself around to his desk. Claiming to have read the manual he lent to him, several queries sprung up immediately. Trent blinked blankly, breaking his stare as he did so. Briefly, the apprentice wrestler cycled between squinting and flashing a confused visage. Under assumption, Trent figured that Atlas must have been talking about "Manaketes", the dragon folk. Being prompted to explain the general premise, however, that inquiry would have to wait. Muttering a slight affirmation, then proceeding to clear his throat, Trent began to a quick and dirty run-down.

"So, let's start with the first game. On the continent of Archanea, the Dark Dragon Medeus threw down with everyone, but he tagged out with his cronies every which place. Then, this new kid named Anri comes in with a holy sword -- the Falchion -- and pins that Medeus guy down for the whole ten counts. After that knockout of a match, everyone has a nice time not hating each other an' all that, and Anri gets to be the first king of a new country called Altea. Hundred years after Anri and Medeus throw down though, Medeus tries to make a comeback with this angle against humans. He teams up with two other countries called Grust and Macedon real quick. This guy called Gharnef also makes with some cheap pop with Medeus, and they try to throw down with all of Archanea. 'Cause of all these big names goin' down on the spot, Medeus and his crew triple-team on Archanea, and Archanea taps out right quick. Same sitch happens over in Altea, where Marth and his sister Elice are at. Elice gets Marth and some of his crew straight outta town, all the way to an island kingdom of Talys. Marth squats out there in hiding until he's sixteen, getting into some crazy crap right afterwards. That's where we start."

Taking the chance to lightly clap Atlas's shoulder, Trent then follows up his lengthy ravings.

"Best part is: most games in this series can give unique experiences, even in just small ways, for each entry. Some are remakes though, like these two."

Reaching to his left with the respective palm, Trent swung his computer's pointer between two articles: "Fire Emblem: Dark Dragon & Blade of Light", and "Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon". They were the first and eleventh games in the series, correspondingly. Glancing back towards his friend and instructor, Trent proposed a question.

"Do you want 'ta try out the original, or the remake?"

---

TL;DR - Atlas gets way more than he asked for, maybe?

[Atlas Steele]

Listening carefully to the explanation that was given, Atlas would nod his head carefully before then trying to count on his own fingers to see if he understood everything correctly.

"So, Aroma Dragon Clone was angry that his chess pieces were being little turds and then a kid comes in and defeats the dragon clone, only because of their cliched 'every hundred years~!' thing, he comes back and... Marth is left on his ownsies to defeat him later? Aight."

Looking at the pictures... Looking at the box size, before quietly flinching upon trying to pick up this... Deez cart...? "This... This looks flimsy. Unless you can suggest otherwise, we should follow the big box. of course." Atlas spoke smugly, knowing full well that bigger game boxes meant it came with more things!

Like, when he once ordered that psychic kid game, with the little heroes that did their best to stop an alien that their parents raised, oh what an enjoyable little adventure.

"I am not wrong on that right? The remake is worse than the original because of the box size, right?"

---

Trent "Hyas" Cassidy - Maybe convince atlas that the flimsy games aren't bad?

[Trent "Hyas" Cassidy]

Trent's gaze drifted between Atlas's key movements as he connected a few dots. The Man of Steele made his best attempt at providing himself with substitutes and summarizations. Following that, however, the mentor's thought process brought Trent some dismay. Oh, what a simple man Atlas truly was. Trent shut his eyes for a brief moment, raising his brow as he continued to listen. Unfortunately, the apprentice wrestler was keenly aware of how misguided his teacher's view was. Technology has an infrequently habit of becoming smaller as it goes on. The smaller its gotten, inconsistently, its also gotten vastly more powerful. Upon Atlas's most recent comment, Trent was prompted to demonstrate.

"I gotta tell you, Atlas. That's just not quite right these days. The box size doesn't always say everything anymore. I wanna show you something. Something that eighteen years of time does for games like these."

Booting up an emulator that was loaded onto the computer, a quick sequence of clicks flashed the first game on-screen. A simple, albeit dramatic scroll faded in and out. Eventually, a pixelated title screen appeared, labeling the title as "Fire Emblem: Dark Dragon & Blade of Light". A class reel swiftly followed, displaying several animations of character sprites jutting in place. The description of each class was fleeting, yet to the point. Suddenly, Trent tapped an upper key on his keyboard, shifting the emulator's image to a point in-game. Chapter 1 was in view, featuring more of the limited, although potentially charming map sprites. There was certainly charm here, albeit the limitations of 1990 was plainly evident. Then, Trent tapped a combination of keys, pausing the emulation. An index finger was pointed upwards before Atlas.

"Now, before we continue, have a quick peek at the remake of the same game!"

Another emulator program jumped into view, overlapping with the previous one. On-screen, the title of "Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon" zapped into sight. The background graphic portraying a grim, yet dramatic scene contrasted with the shining title card prior to transitioning to another class reel. It displayed the name "Warrior", shining a brilliant, pseudo-holy light upon the name. Yet, as if attempting to withhold the sheer difference between the first and eleventh title, the image shifted once again. It cut to an overview of a world map. Here, Trent had once prepared to start playing. Now, he figured it'd be best to start easy for dear old Atlas. A fortress was on-screen, dead center. Atop it, a miniature flag waved in the wind, and clouds drifted along lazily. However, that was merely the bottom screen. At the top screen, a graphic of Marth and two others were visible, with a brief, beginning text. Trent glanced towards his mentor and friend, anticipating his likely responses. The apprentice's visage oozed the phrase "Ta-da!".

---

How d'you like them graphicz Atlas ?

[Atlas Steele]

As Atlas watched the show that he was given before his eyes, he was slowly taking it all in, enjoying the small sprites, the clean showing, it was truly something that was ahead of its time as he would nod knowingly before seeing him press another button on the computer, as his eyes lit up in shock.

"A remake?" he uttered in shock before his words were eradicated along with every fiber of understanding as he would slowly drag his body out of his chair to raise himself upwards, starting to breathe heavily as he couldn't understand exactly what he had missed in the time that he was gone, he couldn't understand how everything had changed so heavily that nothing was the same anymore...
It was as if somebody collapsed every single thing that he had been taught for a moment into an endless abyss as he would move towards the hallway before being promptly stopped, almost having pulled out the old briefcase of a phone that he carried around in the past...

"There was animation to the movements, on a map with so many little icons, there is movement, detail, it is... Okay..." He spoke, trying to get his mind into the right setting before taking a deep breath as he would try to comprehend what was happening...

"C... Can I look at the screen closer, for how I can take this turn? This is... Absolutely astonishing..."

[Trent "Hyas" Cassidy]

Atlas's shocked and evidently amazed gestures of understanding was all that Trent needed to see. He chuckled to himself in a brief few exhales, albeit somewhat confused by his mentor's following actions. There was certainly some disbelief mixed within Trent's satisfaction. Did Atlas well and truly not see a single game after the NES era? It was difficult to believe, but not beyond Atlas by any means. As his mentor rose to further cope with this awakened understanding, Trent oscillated in his chair some. Haphazardly resetting the emulation to return to the title screen, Trent continued as he was. Leaning backwards, his arms angled themselves just behind his head. Resting himself somewhat, the jingle of a grand adventure was audible. Whether it was true or not, this gave Atlas further shock. Definitely.

Then, for whatever reason, Atlas began sorting out a briefcase-phone combination. Looked like something similar in age to Fire Emblem 1; real damn old, by technology's standards. As intriguing as it would be to investigate, Trent didn't want to kill time like that_. Maybe another day, when a fanciful strategy game isn't right in front of him. It was by then that Atlas spoke to himself, going through the motions of being flung forward nearly twenty years into the future. Well, in a sense, at least. He then asked to take a closer look, and to take a turn. A satisfied grin creased Trent's visage in an instant. Was he hooked? Let's hope so. Shifting himself by the axis of his desk chair, Trent spun to the side some. Leaving a more adequately open space for Atlas, it beckoned for the Man of Steele to have a crack at it. With any luck, he'd reach the point in which he would learn about the Fire Emblem itself! Here's hoping.

---

Have at it Atlas ! Trent will help out so Atlas doesn't go off the rails. 

[Atlas Steele]

Being given the approval to start the game, Atlas would move the mouse on the screen and awkwardly click on the castle at the top screen before noticing the text that said, as he vocally spoke to himself "Touch to start..." Before tapping it with his bare finger.
Looking awkwardly confused about the situation, he then realized that he could use the mouse to tap the screen too, as he clicked on the bottom screen before jolting from the sudden change...!

Going from New game to the selection of difficulty as he turned off the tutorials, he would jokingly speak to Trent. "Geesh! Kids these days always play these games a bit harder than usual huh~?" He laughed contently, before asking. "If I do need help, I can ask you for tips right?"

As the game started to play a little cutscene for the player, Atlas would pay a right amount of attention as it talked about a twink that had to use a blade to defeat a bastard of a beast. "I could beat him with my fists," Atlas spoke, cockily before noticing that dragons were mentioned and his brave bravado turning to dust as he shook his head, softly mumbling about how he couldn't. Dragons were simply too much for the giant of a man to be wrestling with his bare hands!

"Oh! They had an age of peace too, but... Yep, There we go, it was broken by an asshole that tried to strive for power... with wizards that can use the same things that we call Meta?" Before whistling quietly at how this had predicted events that would occur before being thrown into more story as he would take a deep breath about all this.

"So, We have to move this guy Marth that has to get to the throne room to the other side right?" As he selected the furthest top right location and clicking 'end turn' before even letting Trent talk.
Which would knock Atlas off guard as the cutscene once again began, with an allied army trying to capture the prince of the kingdom of Marth!?

"Marth is a weird name for a prince, but why are they trying to- They have axes?! How is a prince meant to fight against a small army of ax-wielding lunatics!? This can't be right, right? Did I do something wrong?!" Atlas spoke, panicking at the screen!

---

Will be doing my best to experience it the true way!

[Trent "Hyas" Cassidy]

Jumping back to the title screen was a fine choice. Atlas, evidently outside his element, made attempts at touching the lower screen to continue. At first, physically tapping the computer monitor roused a stifled laugh out of Trent. By intention, it wasn't malicious. Hopefully Atlas was able to discern that; yet, the Man of Steele figured out the emulator's alternative methods. Utilizing the mouse to move along, Trent's mentor blew through the following menus without much issue. There were a few comments and silent gestures here and there. Just sifting through menus was entertaining; that is, so far. Trent lurched forward as Atlas proposed a pair of questions, plopping his feet down hastily. A broad palm clapped his mentor on his left shoulder.

"I gotcha, friend! Fire Emblem's usually got a pretty decent learning curve, but be ready for a few insights that the game may not prep you for!"

Trent kept a hand upon Atlas as he entered a string of background art-laden cutscenes. It was all pretty straightforward so far, just as he had detailed a moment ago. Marth, Medeus, Mfire Memblem, and more. Ultimately, it was exposition, and a small lore dump. Served its purpose though. All its gotta do. Atlas commented some more as the text boxes scroll along. A light, albeit sharp exhale exited Trent. Nice to see that Atlas was enjoying himself, in a way. The man of Steele outlined the similarities between the Archaneans and themselves, that of which was our age of peace before the Meta arrived. Atlas figured that the mages were the most similar, or so Trent thought.

"Well, something like that. Those 'wizards' are a bit more uniform than the Metas with their powers."

Eventually, "Turn 1" of the Prologue chapter began. A brief cutscene preludes it, and the animated sprite of Marth came into Atlas's control. Before Trent could discuss the importance of Marth's stats, and his associated bases, Atlas took to action immediately! The creasing grin the apprentice wrestler had vanished as swiftly as the first turn did.

"Wh-- Hey, Atlas, friend! There were things to point out that turn. Why rush into it?"

Unfortunately, events rolled into motion with great haste. Atlas was correct in the chapter's objective, but was proceeding far too forthright about it. Fire Emblem is of the Strategy-RPG genre(s) for a reason! Another cutscene. Enemy "Fighter" and "Soldier" class sprites rolled onto the map. While non-lethal, Atlas immediately fell into a kind of pitfall that Trent fell into often: compulsive movement. Not every unit has to move every turn. Thankfully, this was the prologue. These "ax-wielding lunatics" could be kited into a convenient choke-point on-screen. In fact, that choke-point was exactly where Marth was guided to. Javelins and hand axes were extremely unlikely, so in theory, these Fighters were floundering soon enough. But, for now, both Trent and Atlas needed to gather themselves enough to assess inventory, stats, and the inevitable future combat. Grasping his mentor's shoulder more firmly, Trent attempted to reassure Atlas.

"Pull it together, friend. These axe fiends are nothing. You read it yourself; Marth is trained in swordplay. He can handle this, just as you can. Move your cursor around, and check those fellas in red. See what they have. Check if they have any high stats anywhere in particular, like defense or speed. If Marth can out-speed them, they're toast!"

---

Turn 1! How will Atlas handle Turn 2?

[Atlas Steele]

Listening to the stat points, Atlas would realize that this was more akin to a wrestling match as he would move his character further to the left, creating a one square opening choke position.
Like when once back in the day two buddies tried to attack Atlas at once in the ring, he knocked their heads together to prevent more from charging in without going one by one.

"Ah, Like the old days of keeping people at you one by one, huh!" He proclaimed, watching the unit strike his once, dealing some damage as he flinched upon noticing his eighteen health scrolls down to sixteen before watching the unit he was using.
That simple sword user strike twice, What a dastardly fellow!

"He is a heel!? Striking twice when he only does a single opening blow! That dastardly devil, that conniving bastard!" As he would slam his palm on the table causing a rather large crack to form before apologizing to Trent quite rapidly!

"They would have won much easier if they dropped their weapons and went for a grapple! Who even lets a man have a sword in a true manly brawl!? But you had some things to explain?" Atlas spoke before giving a rather content noise upon seeing the sword user in the video game raise their sword and strike down upon him.
Dealing much more damage than he imagined he could have set up that second choke position further up the passageway.

Noticing the strange glowing square that was visible further up ahead... "So, Do you have anything to explain for me as we are seemingly getting close to the throne room? There is that archer that doesn't seem to be moving much, But I would love to get some additional information if you have it."

---

As requested did the boring walk up to the throne rooms in the same post to prevent us from getting stuck for too long!

[Trent "Hyas" Cassidy]

Trent would enthusiastically nod at the notion of the olden days of wrestling. A fitting comparison. Then, the first combat encounter began. Marth was initiated upon, prompting the first attack going to the enemy Fighter. Failing to evade, Marth was indeed hit for a (measly) two damage. Oh well, he'll walk it off. The Lord didn't start with any Vulneraries, anyhow. In retaliation, however, Marth struck not once, but twice; doubling the Fighter into defeat. The Rapier is a reliable Lord weapon in these early chapters. Atlas, however, didn't take too well to his Lord character's superior speed. Marth was promptly labelled a heel! Trent's desk was crunched, albeit only somewhat, under the might of the Man of Steele. The Steele's apprentice huffed a brief sigh. That'll need some duct tape later. Then, immediately shrugging, Trent gave some reassuring commentary.

"Marth is no heel, Atlas! In this ring, its either him or those red fellows. This arena is a particularly dangerous one, as those red fellas will use anything and everything to take down a single man: that there Marth."

Atlas offered an addendum to his own perspective, claiming that a straight and dirty grapple would do the job far more easily. Then, being allowed to elaborate on more information, the apprentice wrestler obliged.

"Ah, yes, yes -- OH! Look there, Atlas!"

Having been initiated on yet again, Marth retaliated in combat. This time, though, it was a knockout punisher: the critical hit.

"That was a critical hit. In this game, critical hits do three times more damage than what's noted at the bottom of the top screen, there. With one of Marth's special weapons, that Rapier, it gives him an extra chance to pull one off. Like with anything, its got limited uses. Watch out for that, friend, and don't rely on it too often."

Having no qualms with Atlas pushing Marth along the now empty castle room, the Lord unit sat back for a second choke. Thankfully, from what either wrestler could tell, the enemy units weren't too much trouble; even for Marth. Although, it seems that Atlas had misjudged one of the final enemy Soldiers. Mistaking one for an Archer class enemy, Trent promptly distinguished the two.

"That fella over there is a Soldier, and those wave around lances. Those have a combat advantage against swords, which Marth uses. Its not a big deal now, but watch out in the future if you end up with Marth having to combat multiples of them. Archers don't have any big advantages besides their range, which is only one extra space away. Both of those classes have different sprites. You'll get plenty of chances, and time, to see the difference, Atlas."

Trent took a brief second to clear his throat. His chatter was becoming plentiful, and frequent.

"Up ahead is the throne, which tells you that this is a "Seize" map. "Seize" is a type of objective for a chapter, like this one. It requires Marth to walk onto the "Throne" tile and select "Seize". The chapter immediately ends once you do this, so be sure to get what you want to get done out of the way beforehand. Got that, friend?"

---

Turns 3 and 4 pass! Good work so far Atlas Steele!