Hoshidoooont

In Conquest the impression I got is that the world is saved since Anankos's primary agents are killed off at the end, and presumably he is weakened as well. Same thing for Birthright. In Revelations you cut off the head of the snake, also saving the world, but in all three timelines/routes you end up saving the world of Fates. Was X and Y's storyline really that bad? I played Black and Black 2 back to back when the latter came out and I thought it was Gamefreak's best attempt at a storyline in Pokemon since the Orre games. ...Then I got ORAS and the entire game felt like a disappointment, although that's less to do with the story, and far more to do with the lack of an Emerald-style Battle Frontier, expanded Safari Zone, new postgame areas to explore, etc.

I wish Fates had an epilogue that more directly alluded to the fate of Valla, what you describe sounds awesome. When I finished Conquest there were multiple comments about the fate of Nohr several decades into the future, as well as how heroes of Conquest were viewed by people several generations into the future. I never got that with Valla--------but like the fact that it's apparently based on India, maybe there were some things that just flew over my head.

Except they did undermine the idea of a third faction from the start. Post-Revelations Valla will be slightly larger population wise than Cheve, and will primarily be populated by Corrin, Azura (assuming she's the Queen, since in every other ending she disappears again----why I don't know), Corrin's significant other if Azura is not queen, and what few Vallite soldiers survive that haven't been slaughtered by the Nohrian and Hoshidan armies campaign during Revelations. And this assumes that these Vallite soldiers can: a.) Recover from their minds being likely permanently ravaged/altered b.) Swear fealty to the new leaders of Valla, and not just jump ship and defect to Nohr/Hoshido or become mercenaries/bandits. c.) Can rebuild their nation with Vallite faceless (like Anthony), who assuming at least some of them retain sentience/sanity/a sense of identity ... ... ... And the result (as I see it) is this mysterious third faction, Valla, being populated by psychotics/recovering psychotics, mutants/not!orcs/faceless, two young leaders, one of which being the successors of a God-Tyrant and the other a cryptic daughter of the late Queen, and having to overcome the logistical nightmare of rebuilding a nation that as disconnected as Dalaran or Nagrand. And to be honest that portrayal of Valla post-Revelations sounds awesome, but it's less of a powerful, rivaling third faction that the game promised, and more of a moderately populated village populated by radically different survivors of a terrible war. As hyped up as Valla is, it suffers from the same problem Nohr has: an amazing premise that is ruined by the game only superficially trying to portray the faction, and barely explaining the politics of the faction or how it actually operates/functions/what it's culture is. In fact, at least Nohr has "generic Europe" going for it, and Hoshido has "generic Japan" going for it----------I don't know what Valla was supposed to be based on. Greece? Rome? Carthage, maybe? There's not enough information about it to draw any definitive idea about what Valla was/is one way or the other.

More games could use a Nick Carraway type protagonist-----a relative black slate that, as the story progresses, clearly does have some innate biases and personally outside of what the player chooses to project onto him. And once the main story ends the MC, much like Nick, has no reason to stay in the setting/with the characters because of diverging priorities(in Nick's case he developed a seething hate for Old Money and got fed up with the crookedness of New York, only to live out his days in his hometown, far out West.) Also, am I the only one who is getting tired of main character A, B, C, "disappearing" after the main story ends? Yeah, people change and move on with their lives in different ways, but your fate isn't clouded in some veil and ambiguity after the story ends. Why are there so many Schrodinger's characters?

Really? That's disappointing. I just read Kris's bio, it really does come across as a bad fanfiction.net bio. Like, "My Immortal" tier. I can imagine it now, "Corrin's secret retainer, Kirito McColdsteel, is assigned a secret mission by his lord to help the war effort and bring allies to Corrin's side. Play a fantastic saga as you learn of the WHOLE story of Fates, as Kirito McColdsteel: Saves Corrin when he passes out on his way to the Ice Tribe, fights 10,000 Vallites alongside Gunter when he was trapped in Valla before Corrin met him, foiled Iago's plans multiple times between several chapters, and lead the naval assault on Hoshido as the Nohrian royals assaulted the capital by land. Learn of their post game exploits as they singlehandedly restore peace to the continent, and break Azura's curse, rematerializing her into existence again." It's a shame because I've seen some fan fictions on Fates that, while not great, don't look particularly awful as well. Either stories set 15-20 years in the future with Kana as the main protagonist, or far future stuff set 100-150 years after the events of Fates(with whatever ending they consider canon to substantially affect their setting). But in both cases the authors attempt to distance themselves from the main story lines and often resort to using several OCs for their plots, unless it makes 100% sense to namedrop them.

I never played Kris's game, does it really read like that? Some fanfiction.net OC story? Huh. That's like having a fully fleshed out multi-hour DLC retelling the three variations of Fates' from Azura's or Silas's point of view, but retroactively include fantastical, impossible events to make the characters far more badass than they were in the main storyline. Then again, I would like to see what life has been like for a walking plot device/spoiler index (Azura).

Also, why was IS pushing Azura HARD as the canon love interest for Corrin? What we learn in Revelations about Corrin's specific relation to Azura (they're cousins) makes that whole shipping ordeal messed up. -Also, what happened during the time skip in Revelations after Anankos was defeated and right before the final epilogue cutscene? How did they escape Valla? What does it mean that land was donated to Valla? How can Corrin be the King of Valla if literally all of the Vallites are dead or insane murderers. These questions are never addressed. Lastly, I'll try to sum up my opinion of Conquest/Birthright/Revelations: Conquest: My favorite, more ambitious plot, took more risks, attempted to introduce more grey morality into the mix. I personally think the most problematic aspect that prevented the story from being something better was GLORIOUS NIPPON that didn't do anything wrong, as well as the scathing anti-Nohr bias in the original translation, that Treehouse (to my understanding) balanced out by making Hoshidans more xenophobic and racist in the english translation. Birthright: A safe plot, and a boring one. I got tired of heroic, underdog rebels fighting against an evil empire a long time ago. It's boring, and safe. Revelation: The third path that ruins the paths of Birthright and Conquest, once it's apparent both of them only exist to lead up to the events of Revelations. Nearly everybody lives, Gunter and Azura still disappear in this version's ending, and it just feels like one giant power trip. Corrin has the least characterization in this path, and Azura is a walking plot device. It felt like fan fiction.

I just wanted to post and say that I loved your review of Conquest, and agree that in the hands of a few skilled writers could be rewritten into something great. I've always enjoyed stories about protagonists or main characters who struggles to survive in, and possibly reform, a society that is innately somewhere between "lawful neutral" and "lawful/chaotic evil." That's always been a far more interesting premise to me than being part of a group of morally good rebels fighting against a big, bad, empire-------and as someone who just finished leveling and role playing a Sith Warrior on the Star Wars MMO, SWTOR, I can confidently say it's more refreshing to serve a very morally grey/black-grey faction rather than your traditional hero attempting to destroy it. I guess the biggest difference between the Sith Empire in SWTOR and Nohr in Fates is that the protagonist in the former is given countless choices to reform it cunningly and subtly and change it from within, while Corrin is forced to almost always deal with external threats and is never given the opportunity to undermine Hans' or Iago's plans in other parts of Nohr. This is made particularly frustrating as both Corrin's allies and enemies alike throughout the game remark that King Garon's orders are often subject to a great deal of interoperation or misinterpretation, and that plot point should have been expanded upon to allow Corrin to undermine Hans' or Iago's killing sprees, all under the guise of a very loose interpretation of "following Father's orders" . Corrin might not even have to kill Hans or Iago initially, just continuously deny them the ability to be crazed mass murderers. [spoiler=Conquest plot, mainly ] I also think Corrin's suffering should have been condensed into the first third, or at longest the first half, of the campaign for Conquest. Have tragedy after tragedy pile up along each other, rather than being spread out throughout the entirety of the campaign, and being separated by unrelated plot points. So [ice Tribe Rebellion] -> [Cheve Rebellion] -> [Notre Sagesse conflict] -> [The death of Felicia, Silas, or a version of Lilith that had a more active role in this the story since Ch. 2-3 onwards, and whose sibling relationship with Corrin was already revealed very early in. Ideally, the death should be the fault of both Hoshido and Iago (+Hans?) alike. Perhaps Iago and Hans, in a more desperate attempt to get Corrin out of the way, leaked information to Takumi and Ryoma about the location of Corrin's army. Both unhinged by bitterness and betrayal, the Hoshidans manage to capture some of Corrin's closest allies in an ambush, and despite his most valiant efforts, Corrin is forced to watch the execution of some of his closest allies by Hoshidans and Nohrian traitors like Hans and Iago alike.] That's when one of the most badass dialogues in Conquest occurs: ---------------------- "Iago: Such betrayal is an act of treason, and the only possible punishment is death. As such, I think I'll go take your pathetic little life myself." "Corrin: If it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get. I always try to avoid needless violence, but there's an exception to every rule. You want me to act more like you? A merciless killer? Then watch this. You maybe be on the side of Nohr, but I will punish you all the same. […] Everyone, ready your weapons! These men have used cowardly tactics to hurt innocent people! They have destroyed the reputation of our beloved kingdom! They are traitors, and they will pay for the crimes with their lives! Hurry my friends, it is time to obliterate [Hans, Iago, and their followers] and take back Nohr!" (After battle) "Iago: Eeek! No! Please! I don't want to die!" "Corrin: It's over, Iago, have some dignity and let me finish you off quickly!" "Iago: Spare me Lord Corrin! Have mercy! All we did was follow the King's orders, same as you! If you dislike our tactics, blame him! Punish him instead!" "Corrin: You have always made me out to be a murderer, a traitor, a cold blooded killer. Well maybe you're right, maybe it's time I stop denying an aspect of myself you so readily point out! I've always tried to be virtuous and effective at the same time, to see the best in people! Thank you, Iago, for letting me see how foolish that was! Now experience the wrath of Nohr!" (Corrin kills Iago and Hans) ------------------------ The Nohrian-Hoshido war/invasion arc happens shortly after this, and plays out similarly to Conquest, although after this point in the story Corrin becomes his own character and is no longer a neutral stand-in for the player. He becomes more jaded, ruthless, and cunning in his attempts to undermine both Garon, makes allies across Nohr, and neutralize Hoshido as a threat once and for all. Garon in this version could still be a corpse possessed by a demon, although the difference is that Corrin and the other royals don't know this until the end-----Corrin's merely acting against him once it's clear he's a political threat to his goals. After Corrin and co. successfully subdue Hoshido, and after Ryoma commits suicide, the "demons" inside Takumi and Garon release themselves, and ravage the world of Fates. The last few maps are dedicated to the survivors of the war repelling this threat, and Corrin eventually ending Garon and Takumi. The ending cutscene/epilogue would be very, very similar to how Conquest ended, with Xander ascending to the throne and Corrin and Leo being responsible for reforming Nohr in the coming years. [/spoiler] As much as Conquest could use a rewrite, I still think it's better than "(almost) everybody lives" Revelations.