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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As a reminder, be sure to properly give content warnings and put sensitive subjects behind proper spoiler tags. It’s for the mental health of not just your comrades, but yourself as well.
Here is a screenshot of where to find the spoiler button.
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When you die, do you want a penis or vagina? (or something else, there’s other options, null, penis preserving vaginoplasty, etc)
Does having a penis bother you? Do you tuck but don’t mind otherwise? When you have a partner playing around down there do you feel like somethings wrong or prefer them to play around in the perianal area between? If you woke up with a vagina tomorrow AND had a reversal pill to be used whenever but only one time - would you want it reversed?
I top exclusively, but I still want bottom surgery (I’d just use a strap on). I’d probably be open to, uh, bottoming with a vagina but it’d absolutely be more like power bottoming lol. I’m not the biggest fan of my penis and I tuck like 14 hours a day. There’s nothing in me that says “no keep that” besides normal apprehension and anxiety before any big change. It can take a while for funding to be approved or for you to get a surgeon, keep track of how you’re feeling wrt down there - you might feel neutral because you’ve been trying to avoid thinking about it at all!
Not every trans woman wants bottom surgery, it’s not a requirement, plenty of women out there have penises and feel fine about having it.
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Uh
ask me again using different terms…
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Oh sorry, I should’ve said I meant purely in anatomical medical terms when I was talking about it lol. I don’t know specifically how you want your own stuff referred to as.
Or did you mean in exclusively non-sexual terms? Like, obviously that’s a part of genitalia but also it affects your self-image if it’s incongruous cause it’s part of your body and can be a pain to move out of the way you wear cute clothes without a bulge (if that’s a goal for you). And null, just nothing is allowed as an option. Or if you go vaginoplasty route but have no interest in penetrative sex or having a canal, you can get zero depth (faster recovery probably too).
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Do you think a trans woman would have very different opinions on her anatomy compared to me?
Fwiw I do also hate “medical” terminology and allosexual framing.
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Oh yeah, fair enough. I use it cause it’s usually neutral and it’s an agreed-upon (by others of course) framework that I can use at work with my colleagues- and it spills over into personal conversations. I’m sorry if it bothered you! I’ll keep that in mind for the future.
Sorry, I don’t keep track of everyone’s identities either - I saw she/her and made a bumbling dumb assumption you were a binary trans woman. There are plenty of trans women or enby transfemme leaning people who feel completely fine and at ease without bottom surgery. How you feel about it, I dunno. If it’s causing you pain or dysphoria, I’d say sign up. As you research surgeons or get in line for funding, monitor how you feel about it.
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Okay so if it’s not causing me pain or dysphoria, is it fine? To be real it sorta
just hit me a while ago, the dysphoria I’ve felt about it comes from people putting my anatomy into the “male gender” box in terms and connotations. Works a looot better to jettison those terms from my brain.
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Yeah re-name it whatever you want! My ex who did bottom surgery while we were together called her stuff “her clitty” before bottom surgery lol. For myself (and I can only speak for myself), the name isn’t the part causing me bottom dysphoria it’s the actual meat that’s causing me bottom dysphoria - so while I want bottom surgery, I have never renamed it or used a different term like plenty of trans femme types have.
If the only pain or dysphoria you feel with it is when people refer to it in the “male biology” box and it literally doesn’t bother you otherwise - yeah, like I said there’s no requirement you have to get bottom surgery. In the 90s and before, bottom surgery was like the crowning achievement of transition and the moment when you “completed” transition. Thankfully that attitude is more and more jettisoned.
I’d say if you feel really on the fence about it, see about getting on a list but keep track of how you feel - cause waiting lists can be quite long depending on where you are. You’re allowed to change your mind at any moment before surgery (cause under GA you can’t lol), including the minutes before surgery. But if literally the only thing causing you discomfort it when OTHER people refer to it in the wrong terminology or they have the wrong connotations about it, I wouldn’t go through surgery just for that.
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Okay, I see. Uh I guess a thing is, while I don’t get dysphoria from it really (I stare at myself in the mirror after I shower A LOT) I don’t know if I feel that positive about it. Idk both sexual anatomy types seem kind of bad for sex if you don’t like to stick thing in thing? Idk, it would be cool to get euphoria from havin’ a fat [removed] but I don’t feel that good about any of it?
Wish people didnt still say this
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Well then imagine yourself waking up tomorrow by some strange event having whatever you’ve thought about being there instead - null, zero depth, vaginoplasty etc. You got prescribed the pill that will turn everything back painlessly from just one night - would you take the pill? This is a hypothetical to determine how you might feel AFTER all the steps and changes and pain of surgery, cause that’s gonna be the rest of your life - and bottom surgery is gonna be a distant week long memory in 10 years. All that’d gonna be there is the post surgery stuff.
Bottom surgery can have other benefits that could interest you if you’re ace, it can mean no more tucking, it can make things look how you might want, etc. It’s not just a surgery for sex there are plenty of other benefits.
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if that happened my reaction would be to destroy the pill so I couldn’t accidentally swallow it in a freak accident lol