Hawkwing

I don't think people hate having to fight a dragon as the final boss, per se. It's more people are tired of them being the final enemy you face. It gets predictable, and it doesn't help that over half the series has them as the final boss, so they have grown pretty stale at this point. That, and most Fire Emblem bosses go down in two or more hits anyway, so it can ruin the epic feel that a final boss is supposed to have. This isn't a problem limited to just Fire Emblem, however. Many strategy games suffer from having lackluster final bosses/levels, mostly because of how the game mechanics in those games work.

Thanks for responding. By the way, if you put the @ symbol in front of a name, you can inform them that you've responded without having to quote what they've said, like this: @bad touch. As for your answers: I do know what shove is, I just don't know how it works in practice. I wouldn't be surprised if it does/doesn't return. I haven't played FE4 (I took one look at the prologue map and said "So THIS is what they mean by the game having ridiculously large maps! I think I'll play this when I actually have some time on my hands), but I do know that a units level remains consistent after promotion. I do think that this system could work, but I also think that they'd need to balance the game out in order for it to do so. Also, while I don't mind class specific promotion items, having a universal one saves a lot of hassle. I don't mind having a large siege map, I just don't want them to be considered the norm of the game. I'd be fine with two or three really large maps, as long as there is some warning beforehand that the next level will be long. XCOM is a hard-as-nails tactical strategy game about defending the earth from aliens, spawning several jokes about how recruits are inaccurate as stormtroopers despite being the worlds finest. Second Wave options can be chosen to alter the game before it starts to have a different gameplay experience, such as having recruits stats be randomized and different from each other (when they're normally static and similar), having aim and movement decreased when getting injured, not being able to retrieve soldier gear if a unit dies, increasing the cost of research, etc. It makes several aspects of the game more random and more difficult, and it's the players choice of which ones they want to have activated. I think that this kind of system would work very well in a Fire Emblem game. Well, I basically have this site up for gaiden chapter requirements, as well as recruitment requirements and support bonuses, whenever I play FE 6 or 7 (though I do have two monitors set up, making this pretty practical), as I don't really care for spoilers in general. But I can see your point. I could see them working for castle assaults or on really large maps. They just wouldn't be common, is all. You gain less bonus experience in dungeons than in larger fights, although the bonus limit is really only present in Echoes (dungeons in the original game just consisted of a single fight, excluding the end-game ones which were more like marathon levels). A lot of my ideas are short in though or speech, but long on paper, so I apologize if it is a little difficult to read. I think that staving out the enemy could work gameplaywise if you had multiple commanders to control (while one is attacking the castle, another could be attacking an enemy army) and if it was occasionally broken up by fights with those trying to bring supplies into the sieged castle. Admittedly, the poisoning Idea came from the Scout class from Eador: Genesis (it's an obscure game, so I don't blame you for not knowing about it), where you have the option before a fight to raise a false alarm (which reduces the enemies stamina at the start of the fight, meaning they must rest more often), poison the water (which makes all your enemies start the battle poisoned) or raise a panic (which reduces the enemies morale). If the protagonist/commander was already morally grey to begin with, this wouldn't be to out of place. I think that assassination could work either as an RNG thing or it could be a gameplay one, where you have to avoid the guards and reach the target in a modified turn-based style similar to, but still different from, the Fire Emblem norm. Having several ways to assassinate the enemy leader and having each thief having a different perk from each other (such as being able to pass by some guards without raising an alarm, or you can get money after the ordeal is over because your thief, you know, stole stuff on the job). It would also be cool if your decisions here affected the storyline. For instance, attacking a castle immediately without any preparations beforehand and succeeding would gain you a reputation of being a mighty warrior who defies odds, but as an unreliable strategist. Repeatedly using underhanded tactics would cause many problems down the line, as your allies trust you less and less, etc. I get your idea, I just don't want light mages to be better archers, and vice versa. Fair enough. I have several ideas for new game+, as I've had the idea for a while, but I understand and respect your opinion. I think it would be cool if an archer got a shot in first, then switched to their dagger, even if the difference is just cosmetic. Depending on their personality and background, healers would use hand-to-hand combat or staffs to fight, as historically, monks weren't allowed to wield bladed weapons, and instead used blunt weaponry such as maces to fight. I really like the game Stronghold, so I admittedly just want to see the siege contraptions/tactics from that game used in Fire Emblem. I actually created a thread about cosmetic ideas I had for the Switch game a few moths back. It was one of the first topics I made, in fact. I may have not been as clear in the original post. I just want the appearance to be randomized, not their stats. If programmed/designed correctly, it wouldn't even be that complex to insert. It would also be cool to see every weapon a unit is wielding, instead of it being there in hammerspace. That being said, I worry that it would be among the first things to be cut if they had to make any. I just suggested a single inventory slot (the unit could still wield multiple weapons) so that their isn't the conundrum of a unit wielding multiple shields. Exactly the reason why it should return. I'm not asking for a thousand page script or anything like that, but I do think that Fire Emblem is a series that could use them very well. Thanks for the compliment.

I could probably say half of the recruitment chapters for the child characters in Awakening, but to be more specific: -Kjelle: The only saving graces about this map is that Kjelle is unlikely to die and that this level is accessible pretty early on. Other than that, it's a crowded indoor map filled with tough enemies that never lets up on the reinforcements, meaning that this level lasts loads longer than it needs to, and if you're playing on hard difficult or above, the reinforcements move on the turn they are spawned. -Yarne: The fact that you choose which army you wish to fight and which one you wish to protect, or you can decide to fight both for the combined reward, is a cool idea. The fact that the game doesn't show you the full army beforehand, is not as cool. You basically have to have a strong enough army that you can split into two if you want the full reward, and the enemies of this level aren't weak by any means (the reason why they gave you the decision to fight only one side in the first place rears its ugly head before long). That, and Yarne himself will either be a balanced powerhouse or pitiful weakling depending on how kind the child mechanics are to him, meaning it's difficult to predict beforehand whether or not doing the level is worthwhile in the first place -Severa's: The enemy class balance in this level is a pain for the player, as they're too varied to fully prepare for. You have sages who are physically weak but are magical powerhouses, weak but accurate and speedy assassins and tricksters, and warriors/berserkers who are inaccurate has heck but hit like a truck. That, and the level has reinforcements, as well as green npc that you have to protect (which granted, I never found to be that hard, but you do have to spend a few turns waiting for her to reach the villager) before she can be recruited. The only saving grace of this level is that Severa herself is pretty versatile. -Nah's: The wall gimmick is definitely a "sounds good on paper, not so much in practice" idea. You can easily have a path blocked for your stronger units to continue, have a wall crumble right when you though your injured unit would be safe from the battle, and have a path of retreat blocked right when a unit may have needed it. This level is an exercise in frustration, as it's very hard to predict what areas are safe and what aren't, and having to backtrack because a wall appear right when you just got a unit next to unit, just adds to the frustration.

Prepare for a long post, as I'm going to give an answer to every suggestion you made: I don't mind if the hardest difficulty has to be unlocked first (even though you have to beat Lunatic anyway to get Lunatic+). Just don't force me into playing on the easiest setting first. I haven't gotten to far into the GBA games, so I don't know how useful rescue is. I wouldn't mind pair-up returning, but I also won't miss it if it doesn't. Haven't played Tellius, so I can't comment. I wouldn't mind this system, as long as the game is properly balanced around it. It brings up the question of whether or not one would be wasting levels by stalling promotions, or if there's anyway to circumvent hitting the level cap. Again, I wouldn't mind if the game was built with this in mind. I'm fine with skills being linked to classes, as that's how they were before Awakening and it worked just fine. I don't think that critical hit's should be different between classes, however, and I think killer weapons should remain as they were pre-fates. As long as the game has a good in-universe reason for why I should be exploring dungeons, sure. If the game had second wave options like in XCOM, I wouldn't mind this system as long as it was optional. Or if it was modeled after Echoes. However, I don't mind weapon durability returning as long as certain weapons have unlimited uses (with the necessary drawbacks). What exactly do you mean by this? I've only just started playing FE6, so I can't comment on the map quality in that game. However, I wouldn't mind if the game had a few large maps siege maps, but by no means would I want them to be the norm. Sure, but I do think there are more creative ways to hint at the gaiden chapter requirements that just the pause menu. Making the turn limit obvious, having different victory conditions, or making it VERY clear that X unit needs to survive could do. I also wouldn't mind a system that Battle for Wesnoth occasionally applies with it's branching paths, where you have a limit on how many turns you can take before loosing the map, with multiple enemy commanders to battle. Depending on which one you take out before the time limit, you're forced to go on a certain path. If you manage to defeat both ahead of time, you get to choose which path you wish to take. This would force the player to prioritize, especially on harder difficulties, while still having providing the opportunity to plan ahead far enough to knock out both bosses. It would be nice if it was possible to gain certain characters later, or to go through a much harder level to unlock both at the same time. That being said, as long as the character differences makes the choice Agreed, although I think that they could expand upon this system greatly, such as offering multiple options of how to seige a castle (such as starving them out, attacking immediately, resorting to poisoning the food supply or hiring assassins, etc.) or how to approach certain levels beforehand (such as attacking at night, setting up an ambush/trap, building defenses, etc.), and choosing which of your commanders moves on a turn and which ones defend, etc. Agreed, although I don't think there is a max gained in echoes. Not in it's current state, as magic users tend to have to high of a resistance stat for the magic triangle to have much use. However, it could return if there was more to differentiate between each magic class, such as dark magic gaining some extremely damaging spells and some classes being able to summon animals or the dead, light magic having some positive side effects on allies that make them good as a support class, and anima magic having some creative and versatile uses, such as using fire magic to damage defensive walls, or to set fire to a forest, or using wind magic to shove enemies off cliffs. Follow on this train of thought, and magic can become surprisingly more versatile that it currently is (do note that these are just ideas, however, and obviously playtesting would need to take place to make sure whether they are any good or not). Agreed on light magic not getting the short end of the stick, although I would like for specific spells to be able to attack from three range, not just light magic. As long as it's limited to simple speed reductions, sure. I haven't played the GBA games enough to say whether or not I like the con system yet, though. Considering the how high quality some sprites are nowadays, I wouldn't be against this. I found the GBA animates to be extremely well animated, but repetitive, so having multiple variations on a single attack would be an easy solution to this (and not having units walk back and forth for every attack). That being said, I really love the animations from Echoes, and I would love to see them upgraded. As for my short list of ideas: Have New Game+, and include a built-in randomizer so the hackers don't have all the fun. Have archers keep the 3-5 range from echoes, and allow them to counterattack, but with a penalty of some sort. For magic, I would add runes, which have monstrous might but can only attack at 1 range, and staffs, which can attack at 3 range but are woefully inaccurate so mages don't replace archers (again). Also, some characters should have a personal spell list that can be cast with hp, but they can wield magical weapons regardless. Each nation/faction should have unique armor, instead of having a universal design. The knights of Nation A would look very different from the knights of Nation B, and bandits should look like normal civilians who grabbed a weapon and whatever could qualify as "armor." This helps differentiate the enemy nations from each other, something that previous Fire Emblem games don't tend to do well. Related to the above, the face, race, and gender should be randomized, so that you aren't fighting the same-haired soldiers all the time. Having the ability to build and use siege contraptions for certain levels would be cool. Having stats affect equipment would also be neat (a character with moderate defense would wear leather armor, while a character with higher defense would be wearing chainmail. Similarly, a character with low skill would use very obvious, broad, and impractical movements in their attack animations, while one with high skill would be subtle, direct, and efficient), though I can see the troubles in implementing such a system. Have items be a separate category, so that shield, rings, and healing items from echoes can return, but you can only wield one at a time. This way, a unit can have a shield while also fighting with an actual weapon, instead of the "either or" situation SoV had. Combine the paired-ending system of previous titles with the "one characters death affects another characters ending" system from echoes. Also, have the choices made during the story matter, and have multiple endings.

Of course. As other's have already stated, it would be a step backwards if they didn't use it. It still astonishes me how much it added to the characters in echoes, and I especially want the comments during battle to return. The only thing that I wonder if voice acting will return for is supports, and that's only because the amount of them can range from reasonable to ridiculous depending on the game. I don't know how much money IS is willing to put into the voice acting, but considering how much dialogue is fully voiced in much larger games, I wouldn't be surprised either way.

Remake FE 4-6, although 7 and 8 would be a nice bonus, and remaster the Tellius games. There, I've gotten the obvious ones out of the way. Sword of the Samurai One of my favorite Sid Meier games, and for good reason; They did their research on the time period and on Samurai, to the point that I joke that the best game made about the Japanese was made by the Canadians. The game manages to make a one-man army fight seem grounded and realistic while still being awesome, and it's interesting seeing the values dissonance without it being shoved in my face. It also has some really good pixel art for an early 90's dos game. Really, though, the reason I want this game remade is that all of the flaws of the original are both minor and easy to fix. Speed up the gameplay of the sword fighting and military battle minigames, and make the distance of sword swings more clear for the former. Make it so being attacked from different angles isn't a certain death when doing the one vs many minigame, and make the stealth segments it's own minigame instead of combining it with the before aforementioned minigame. Also, make it so the low honor samurai don't commit crimes every turn trying to claw their way to the top, as those messages get annoying. The Elder Scrolls: Battlespire A case of "an excellent idea that was poorly executed." Seriously, who thought that using Daggerfalls combat system (where you have to swing the mouse, say, right to swing right, or forward to stab, etc.. It's a lot clunkier than it sounds) while the camera was controlled with the mouse was a good idea (try to swing the the right, and you'll miss your enemy by a large margin. Try to stab the enemy, and suddenly you're attacking the air)? I mostly want the game remade because I love the idea so much: An Elder Scrolls rougelike where there is no money, no shops, and no NPC's. You'll have to scavenge all your gear from your dead enemies and the rare chest, all while traversing through a randomly generated dungeon. The magic system is fairly complex, but not very useful during combat, so having the system keep it's complexity while streamlining the casting process would be neat. The thing that interests me the most, though, is the fact that you can talk to your enemies. You can threaten and scare smaller enemies into fighting for you, you have to resist the temptations of succumbi, and you can try and talk your way out of fighting some monsters (either by boasting of how you've beaten tougher foes than them and survived, provoking them into attacking blindly, or by simply stating that you've already killed their kind before and it's better if they don't waste your time). Put some thought into it, and you can see how many ideas Bethesda can work with.

...doing the tutorial with Cecila, wondering what the heck a cursor was, and why these soldiers were so wiling to let him win their practice fights. Afterwords, he decided that his growth rates were too low for the lord class, so he decided to go to the gym. He had planned to study while working out, but what actually happened...

If you're looking for a game similar to Fates, I'd suggest Awakening. Pair up is more broken in that game, and the maps aren't as good, but it's still an overall solid game. The characters are less one-note than they are in Fates, and the story is better (though that's not saying much). As for Echoes, I suggest doing your research on the game before you buy it, as it's very different from other Fire Emblem games. You'll either love the gameplay, hate it, or think it's a nice deviation from the norm. The story and characters are the best of the 3DS games, and so are the animations. That being said, it's not the best Fire Emblem game if you aim to see what older Fire Emblem games played like. Warriors is a spin-off, so I only suggest you buy the game if you're interested.

...Bantu, when he was in his fire dragon form. Furious, he breathed such devastating fire upon the mech that it melted immediately, killing the minion inside it. Still filled with rage, Bantu charged up his super attack, and aimed it at...

War monks are probably a reference to the Crusades, where monks were forbidden from wielding bladed weapons, and instead used maces or other blunt weapons. Considering the hammer is really the only blunt weapon in the Fire Emblem series, they had to settle with axes (I got this information from this page from TV Tropes). As for Tricksters, I don't know. Maybe it's going along with the trope that trickster characters are as helpful in as many stories as they are problematic? I've actually have had an idea for a while on handling hybrid classes, but it requires the magic triangle to return (and potentially third tier classes and/or branching promotions). Upon promotion, dark magic users could gain a sword, Anima users gain a lance, and light magic users get an axe. In this way, these classes cover the magics weakness (dark magic is powerful, but inaccurate, while swords are the weakest physical weapon, but have the highest chance to hit. Similarly Light magic is accurate but weak, while axes are the opposite. Anima users get the short end of the stick as both weapons are balanced) while also countering their previous disadvantage with the magic triangle (dark mages can know counter light mages in the weapon triangle, light mage users have the advantage against anima users, so on and so forth). As nice as this idea is, I have no idea how well it would work in practice.

YOU DARE CALL THAT GAME OLD!!! Just kidding, but on a serious note, I really do think that "Emperors Tomb" and "Fate of Atlantis" are tied for best Indiana Jones game, as they both nail the feeling of the movies in different ways. For my own answer, I'd have to say the Super Smash Bros series. I have no need to describe how awesome the gameplay is, or how how epic it is to have a crossover with most of the beloved Nintendo characters. Despite not playing on online matches, however, I know that these games can get janky, and that's not getting started over how ridiculous the whole concept is if you really sit down and think about it. That, and any time I pause the game, I just have to take a picture the situation. It's a game where anything and everything can happen, and that's were a large part of it's charm comes from. I would also put Star Wars: The Force Unleashed here, simply because of how ludicrously overpowered the main character is, despite being an apprentice, and how all the DLC missions are What if? scenarios that you'll either enjoy because it derails the original trilogy, or you'll utterly despise because you have to kill every main character in the series (which, given the reception of the Last Jedi, is probably more of the latter than the former). However, I've only started playing the game recently, and I don't think I've formed a solid enough opinion of the game to say whether or not I enjoyed playing it.

I've read and reread the first part of that interview, and I'm curious if they mean that they didn't start any development on the switch game until Echoes was far into production, or if the Switch game was beginning the ideas/development phase (creating the story and characters, designing the maps, making concept art, etc.), but they couldn't actually get work done on building the game itself until the switch was ready. Because if it was the latter then it would have made sense why they announced the game a year ago but couldn't provide us with any news on the game itself. Anyway, I don't think Fire Emblem games take too long to create, so it not taking a full two years doesn't worry me too much. That being said, I wouldn't be surprised it the release date is revealed to be on the latter part of the year, both to give themselves more production time and/or the game will be huge and requires the extra time.

A better balanced Mila's Turnwheel, as it prevents the annoyance of reseting over a small mistake that may have been out of the players control, while still encouraging the player to play smartly and to not abuse this mechanic.

I believe we've already had quite a few story threads before, but I'll give my general (and optimistic) expectations anyway: They'll put more effort into the world-building. The characters will be less one-note/gimmicky and instead be more grounded and likable. Essentially less like Fates and to a lesser extent Awakening and more like Echoes. The character's will also have legitimate reasons for joining the conflict, will have the war take a toll on them, and their quirkiness will never get to the point where you wonder how they're still in the military. The cast will also be older and/or the age range between characters will be more varied. We'll see a combination of paired endings with the "X characters death affects Y's ending" from Gaiden/Echoes. The lord class won't be exclusive to the main character: It will be reserved for characters who are legitimately lords in the story (with obvious variances between them, of course). If the game doesn't have an avatar, a character with their own personality will still fill their role in regards to world-building. If the game does have an avatar, they'll be a minor lord in a much larger conflict, being important enough to have a reason to be in the story, but not important enough to be a main character. It will also be the player's choice about how involved they wish to be in the plot (from being as unremarkable as FE1 and 2's entire cast to forcefully supplanting the role of the actual protagonist to being the hidden mastermind of the entire plot to being a minor player that is nothing more than a sidenote in the world's history) The main villain/final boss won't be a dragon, but one may be one of the last bosses you face, and will probably serve the role of the dragon (I can't tell whether or not that pun was intentional or accidental on my part). The villains will be more morally grey than obviously evil, and/or most of them are fighting you because it's their job. That, and bandits will have understandable, if not always sympathetic, reasons, for robbing others. Similarly, not all the heroes will squeaky-clean, but neither will the ones who are virtuous (without being mary stu's) be ineffective. We'll see old and middle-aged looking Manakete's of both genders. If there one is a little girl, it'll be the only one in the story and only there for traditions sake. The fanservice will be optional and/or downplayed, and it won't have any place in the story itself. There won't be any plot armor, and all deaths will be final. Memory Prisms will return, and a select few will be playable. It'll be a deconstruction/reconstruction. The game may have multiple endings, but it won't be the "make a choice at the last second" kind. How you handle certain objectives and some choices made during the story will. The differences can be subtle, but I'm not asking for (nor am I expecting) a hundred page script for every action you take. I'm not expecting all of these to take place, but I tried to be as optimistic yet realistic as I could.

...piloting a mech made out of lego's, fitted with weaponry that was powered by yodeling. Upon seeing this...

Consoles, no, as if I'm going to spend a few hundred bucks on a gaming system, I'm also going to buy enough games to make the purchase worthwhile. Videogames, rarely, as I've only sold four games as of the time of writing, and each one had a good reason for it (Shadow the Hedgehog because I found the game to be okay, but the constant swearing annoyed me to the point I gave it back. A Bionical game because I beat it in a day. A Pirates of the Carribean game because I kept thinking "it would be more fun to play Pirates!" so I did. And finally a lego game because I simply lost interest).

I'm speaking from personal experience, and not from whether or not a unit is good statistically. Overrated: Tharja: As much as I like that she's a mage that can take a hit, she's a bit too inaccurate for my liking. Not to mention that Robin, Miriel, and Ricken (and later Laurent) all surpass her magical ability by the time she joins. Nowi & Nah: I would like them... if their stats didn't start out in the single digits and they had to rely soley on their Manakete bonuses to be viable in combat. This makes reclassing them a pain when they fall behind due to not being able to gain any promotion bonuses in their default class. Sumia: She can dodge and double anything. Damaging (or heck, even scratching) something is another story entirely (I occasionally have the same problem with Cynthia. Key Word: Occasionally). Gerome: Even when Cherche is paired up with someone with high skill, I can never get him to hit anything reliably, and is strength was always suppar. I blame Cherche's late (well, compared to every other first generation parent besides Henry, that is) appearance and my lack of skill in building up support points between two units quickly. Underrated: Panne: She can dodge reliably on normal and to a lesser degree hard difficulty, and the fact that she has no place in the weapon triangle is a double-edged sword. However, she really shines in reclassing, as she doesn't rely as strongly on the Taugel bonuses as the Manates are, and she can easily cap strength as a wvyren rider (and really, having three weaknesses isn't that huge of a drawback if you play prudently). Chrom: It may be just because he's forced to be in every level, but I make sure to use in in the front lines in every battle. The result is that he could probably legitimately solo the game after a certain point (which, granted, is nothing special in Awakening, but still), and that Aether is the only skill he actually needs. Ricken: He's not stellar, but he's not bad either. He was always an average yet useful unit for me in every playthrough. Laurent: I find Miriel easy to pair up, so he always appears early when child units start appearing with an extremely high magic stat, and I personally find him very easy to support with Lucina (to the point that LaurentXLucina is the only ship in the game I personally declare canon (or the only thing I ship, period)).

Considering my hype doubled when I saw them and I was eagerly waiting for every update just to see a new combat animation... I have to go with Echoes. They're dynamic, fluid, and fast, and it seems as if the attacks have an actual punch to them. Honestly, the only problem I have with them is the clipping and how the Dread Fighters only have one crit animation, as IS seems to have underestimated many times they do so. Runner-up is the GBA games, as they have among the best, if not the best, animations on the system. They're interesting to watch, pretty varied between units, and the quality still holds up to this day. About the only problems I have with them is that they can get really repetitive and some are a little too over-the-top, although whether or not those complains hold weight depends on which day you ask me

I would personally like to see porcupines so we can finally get characters with spiky hair and quill mustaches/beards as I'd think they would make excellent defense units. Snakes would also be cool to see. I wouldn't mind seeing the Taguel returning, as they were the only part of Awakening where I actually cared about the worldbuilding and I wish we got more details about. That, an I enjoy that I can unironically love something as ridiculous as a warrior race of shapeshifting killer bunnies. I'm not holding my breath, however. Gameplay-wise, I haven't played the Tellius games (yet) so I can't give an informed opinion about how I would like transformation to work. I do, however want shapeshifting units to use weapons upon promotion. I would also like to see separate classes so the difference between each unit is greater than "they can transform into a bird and are really fast" or "they can transform into a cat and are a nice tank." They wouldn't need to go overboard, as I wouldn't mind if they had something like fighter (focus on sterength and defence), skirmisher (focus on speed and later ranged weapons), and/or rouge (basically thieves, but a bit more varied in their uses), along with some unique classes (such as bombardier for flying units, or perhaps a circus performer). As for the Xane unit, I honestly wouldn't mind if they used transformations similar to the MS-DOS game ShadowCaster, and instead of simply copying a class, the unit would transform into a creature that would serve said classes basic function, but with an extra purpose. For example, copying a myrmidon would turn the xane unit into a Kapha (see spoiler), which would hit fast and hard, but they would also have the ability to swim in water tiles without trouble and use electricity attacks, or copying a healer or thief would turn them into a Cuan, serving the function of both and having excellent speed but having downright bad health. Using an example not from the game, copying a knight could turn them into a walking suit of armor for example, increasing both defense and resistance. Of course, they wouldn't blatantly plagiarize this game, but it would be nice if they used this train of thought. For an example (best I could find, since the game is so damn obscure): (I really like shapeshifters in fiction, so I really want IS to get creative with them.)

In a bit of irony, to quote Tv Tropes: Considering the large time gap between the games, it wouldn't surprise me if the united religion started out fairly balancing both beliefs, but started drifting towards Mila as Alm and Celica's story became more and more fantasized, and Duma and Rigel became more and more villainous in it (which would also be ironic as Desaix and Slayde are more despicable than the Rigelian enemies, as the army is just doing its job and the Faithful, though evil, are acting out of genuine faith). That, and the people probably liked the message of "live with compassion and love" more than "hardship builds character." (I still don't understand why IS never expanded upon the DLC, as it would have been interesting to see what Duma and the Faithful were like before the former went mad and the latter became nothing more than a cult.)

...a giant Koopa Troopa sprite, in block form! Then Donnel revealed that he was a master builder in Minecraft, and that he loved the game with all of his heart, even after it had lost much of its popularity. Apparently, he made a deal with Plegia itself to build a wall decorated with sprites of the Super Mario series. When the Royals and Kiran heard of this, they...

I take it you didn't read my second reply, as I gave a similar suggestion. I do like the unit coming back stronger idea, though. All legendary staves in the series have so few uses that they fall under the "too awesome to use" category (understandably so too, as they raise the dead and basically fully heal everyone around them). I still don't understand why they have bows and magic as part of the weapon triangle in Fates, though. Fire Emblem is one of Nintendo's darkest franchises, period. Heck, bandit attacks, despite being experience fodder, are never treated as a complete joke. Racism of all kinds is a common theme. Regicide, patricide, and genocide are also commonplace. Swearing is not unusual, and neither are innuendos. Hell, the second game had CHILD MURDER, and Genealogy infamously has incense. Honestly, the only reason the games aren't rated higher is that most of this is told, not shown, and they don't delve on any of these topics more than they need to. (On a side note, I've always wondered why Nowi didn't put on a normal looking shirt when she had the chance. Then again, we aren't told what the clothing rules are for transformation. Nah is wearing a normal dress and can transform fine, yet both Panne and Yarne aren't wearing pants. Don't think about that too much. I've already regretted doing so.)

Well, Awakening Lunatic is called "Fredrick Emblem" for a reason! But yeah, I do know that their usefulness does depend on the difficulty, and as I said, I know how people can get a use out of this archetype. I just think that if they player knows they don't get a use out of the archetype, they could have the choice to continue the game with a different unit type. Agreed that the legendary weapons should be earned, though I think the ease at which you got the legendary weapons in fates was just another of its writing problems. I also think that unlimited uses should only apply to legendary weapons too, so that the normal weapons would be gimmick free. Overall though, I just want to be able to use said legendary weapons without fear that they'll break by the end of the level. (I haven't played Fates ("yet"), but I have sworn that if I ever got Birthright, I would legitimately do a Ryoma-only run (with Corrin if he/she is forced in every level) just to see if he really is that overpowered.) Perhaps, but Nowi is show to have moments of maturity and insight, she just chooses to act young so she doesn't grow cynical, depressed, and/or crazy over outliving everyone she meets. The only reason I could think of is that you bought weapons solely from armories in the GBA games, and the developers thought that having specific areas to repair weapons would be a tedious and unwieldy process (you could just send someone to the shop to buy the weapons and then send them to the convoy. Having to drag a specific weapon to a forgery, would be more of a hassle than it's worth). That still doesn't excuse why the mechanic hasn't reappeared in later games, though.

It's more of a personal thing, but I know that I'm not alone in this train of thought. Usually, I never use the Jeigan except for mundane tasks such as visiting villages and trading, as I have my own units pull their own weight and earn their experience, even if they get scratched up in the process. That being said, I do understand how people get a use out of this archetype, and that they become much more vital on higher difficulties, so I don't want to remove it entirely. I think that in the early part of the game the player should have the choice whether they want to play the rest of the game with the Jeigan character they've been using up to this point, replace them with a distinctively average unit in every way, or gain a trainee character instead (without having to kill them off). It would be neat if the people who didn't choose reappeared later in the story for a cameo, such as the Jeigan retiring and becoming an ambassador/diplomat, the average unit is part of a different division in the army, and the trainee has gone on their own, unrelated adventure. Admittedly, I kind of rushed this post, so I didn't go into great detail about my ideas, but the up/downsides don't have to be static "weapon can't crit" or "you can attack twice but -4 speed." They can be subtle. Chrom's Falchion, for example, is just a glorified iron sword with a bonus against dragons, but it remains useful throughout the entire game simply because it cannot break, even though it's usefulness can waver in the midgame due to it's subpar strength at that point of the game. I also agree that the later legendary weapons should be stronger than the earlier ones, though game-balancing would need to take place, of course (it would be fun if you could mess around with the later weapons in New Game+). Overall, though, I just don't want them to have durability, because then super-resourceful me won't touch these weapons until the endgame, missing out on the fun. Honestly, I'd just think it'd be cool to see a being with thousands of years worth of experience actually put their savviness to use, playing all sides of the conflict to their advantage, while still having the war being a human one and without said character becoming the final boss. That, and I want to see a Manakete with a sage beard that transfers over to their dragon form, a mercenary dragon, and my Kreia expy.

I thought of a few more: No Jeigans: Or at least, make them optional. Some people know how to use them efficiently, while others know how to train units without their help. Although I fit into the latter category, I wish that having this arechetype was a choice on behalf of the player instead of being forced upon them in several of the games. Legendary Weapons Should Not Have Durability: So I can actually use them for more that 10 fights. I would say give them downsides to counter their strengths, to make them more situational but still useful. (Stuff like not being able to crit or double or attack on the enemy/player phrase, or having reducing one stat significantly while increasing another one. Basically, Fates system done right, but only with a select few weapons.) No Child Manaketes: Mostly to have more variety, but can we please have old male and female manaketes, as well as ones that look middle-aged or in their early-mid-late 20's instead of having the majority be little girls? This could also make to their purpose for being in the war be more varied, such as ones who wished to remain neutral but were forced to fight, some who are fanatically for one side or the other, or ones that are playing both sides (which could get especially interesting considering their long lifespans). Just, no more little girls, as we have too may of them.