mrwanton

I agree the route split is done better in Fates, but you're also paying for 3 separate games so that's kinda to be expected.

Late to the convo but I'm also against this... now yes, VW could have been done a lot better. All of the alliance, Almyra and Claude feel underutilized and that sucks but it at least has the semblance of being unique in concept. Going with a third party, led by an outsider to the entire conflict with his own entirely separate set of issues sounds awesome. The way things turned out was underwhelming, as well as cut Claude at the knees as a character, considering the heart of his issues can't be given as much detail considering the setting as they should be but it's still more interesting to me than another route where you're against Edelgard when Dimitri's route is basically already the epitome of that viewpoint.\ Byleth just can't carry a story by themselves even with the tighter narrative. I ultimately just find VW infinitely the more unique endeavor and value it a lot more than SS as a result.

I don't like Fates more than 3H but I do think it handled the route aspect a lot better than 3H does. Like yeah having to pay multiple times sucks and the map variety is very all over the place but at the least it lives up to having a different experience for a majority of the time. In 3H you have well this: CF: A route that while unique is also the most incomplete and is very short after part 1 totaling at 18 chapters. AM: Solid route story-wise but doesn't really tell you much of anything lore wise VW: Covers you most lore but is undermined by SS existing and as a result of the SS/VW fusion hurts Claude's unique position as a character. SS: Probably has one of the tighter routes, but at the expense of focusing on Byleth, whose not really a character. It's very sluggish and the BE don't really add much to the experience. And to make matters worse each time you wanna replay you have to go through White Clouds which is fantastic on a first play-through but wears very thin later on. 3H has a fantastic story, great characters and a lovely soundtrack but it's a bit of a pain to replay considering the first half is always exactly identical.

Finished it a few hours ago so thoughts.

Didn't know we had a FGO thread here. Grinding Chocolates for Semi is tedious

Agreed to an extent but I think due to Claude not really having a relationship with Edelgard I didn't feel it as strongly. Now, I do think having Byleth care about her on every route is a mistake but that's a different argument.

My order was VW/CF/BL. I never really got a sense of Edelgard bias in VW. She's an opponent who simply has goals similar to Claude and that's really about it. The overall war is more of a backdrop in VW because it's somewhat unrelated to Claude's ultimate goal. To me it's the route that presents Edelgard the most neutrally. Yeah there's the scene with Byleth and Edelgard's death but that's more cause of SS scene re-usage rather than any personal feelings. Claude and Edelgard don't really have a connection and for the most part I don't think the route really gives her anything too sympathetic to write home about. BL on the other hand goes hard on the tragic element of facing Edelgard. I think it's the route that showcases her at her worse while simultaneously being the route that also attempts to sympathize with her the most while maintaining a antagonistic role. Her relationship with Dimitri is one of the main focuses of the route and she gets scenes that reflects this to an extent.

That's where a bit of her detractors come in. Some people argue that the game trys to make her too sympathetic despite her actions. Yes she has a lot of prominence and the theme song but some people also just don't like being steered towards one specific direction and accuse the game of being biased.

Dimitri's in a weird spot for me I recognize that he's fantastic and his character arc is legitimately well done but at the same time I feel like the game kinda pushes his tragedy in the forefront a bit compared to the other 2 lords. Annoys me a bit. Dimitri's route is all about him, how he became how he is and what he used to be. He has several NPCs exclusive to his route that really tie everything together. But Edelgard and especially Claude don't really get the same treatment. To find out why they are the way they are you really have to do their supports while in contrast you find out what makes Dimitri tick naturally during the story. I really wish the alliance and the empire got a bit more insight because they feel rapidly underdeveloped in contrast to the Kingdom. The fact that the alliance only has 1 NPC in the game really hurts.

Without a doubt. Oddly enough I do think the lack of 3H banners has played a part in it's CYL domination. If people like Sylvain,Felix, Marrianne and Dorothea were already there it'd be a bit more evened out.

I'm kinda expecting him to get bumped out unfortunately. I don't think anyone in 2nd at midterms has ever retained it.

Oh don't get me wrong. I like Claude and Dimitri a lot more than Marth. That's not even a contest. I just think he's been messed over a lot and deserves his day after CYL2 did him dirty. Of course, I'm gonna be really salty if Claude doesn't get 1st next CYL as a result. My main fear is the 3H love wearing off by next year and him becoming the new Marth... no thank you. .

I think deserving is kinda dumb because at the end of the day it's just an alt(Marth has like 4 or 5) however, it's FE 30th bday so I don't mind if Marth wins finally. That being said, I'm really shocked at all the anti 3 houses sentiment that's come out recently.

People legit like Pants-less Marth?

Not sure if I want a legendary Claude since that'll just hurt him for CYL next year assuming he can't keep 2nd.