DystopianAlphaOmega

Keep in mind, at least most of those situations could have been rewritten to have the antagonist run away the old-fashioned way (have them jump on a horse/wyvern if necessary). I think the broader question is the use of “I must retreat” as a plot mechanic. On one hand, it helps build up a boss if you have to fight them multiple times, and it feels good to try and devise a way to kill an early-appearing boss, like Garon at the opera house or the Death Knight at the holy tomb. On the other hand, it somewhat cheapens these encounters and somewhat begs the question of why they don’t just retreat the same way when you finally kill them.

For lord: What weapon does the main character/hero and most important character of a Fire Emblem game use? A) Sword B) Lance C) Axe D) Bow For fliers and mounted: What do you do with your horse/Pegasus/wyvern when you dismount? A) Jump off and let it wonder around B) Put it in your pocket C) Store it in the convoy D) Put it in an out-realm For priest: According to the canonical Book of Seiros, Nemesis was: A) Evil B) Irredeemable C) Slain by Saint Seiros, chosen of the Goddess D) All of the above

No one has really mentioned it yet, but Edelgard blames the Church for supporting/facilitating separatist movements, which ultimately led to the creation of Faerghus and the Alliance. She also accuses the church of hoarding wealth from the faithful to live opulently. At least these are the public reasons she gives for her war in her speech before the Imperial Army. Honestly surprised how how much people criticize some of Rhea’s actions. For example, executing enemies who already tried to kill you should hardly be controversial (unless you are Corrin). Also, hereditary nobility emerging would happen with or without crests. As would more ambitious/ruthless families trying to remove unworthy heirs. Milan was a petty, ruthless, bully - even if he had a crest and was less insecure I doubt he would have been much better. The goddess being worshipped by the Church does exist. Yes, Rhea tried making clones to revive her mother. When they didn’t work, she seems to have let them live out happy lives before trying again. When one of these failed clones was basically having a miscarriage and was willing to sacrifice herself for the child, Rhea obliged and saved the baby, even though it meant she would have to wait until trying another clone. The church defends against bandits and other threats like TWSITD. Honestly thought Edelgard was a bit of a conspiracy theorist who wanted to dismantle her whole society. My bigger question is how she got so much of the Empire to follow her. When her father tried to curtail noble authority there was an insurrection. When his daughter wanted to to declare war on the church and abolish nobility, they join in? I understand that some of the more disloyal nobles were purged, but still. Like, wanting to reclaim/reunite the Empire would honestly be a fair enough reason for war, but her anti-church crusade comes across as madness (let alone if you consider who she was willing to work with to make it possible).

Thanks for posting these. Did we ever figure out how the game prioritized which A supports get endings?

At one point, doesn’t Edelgard imply that, by allying with TWSITD she is helping (or at least trying to) curb their worse impulses. As in, TWISTD would be plotting/scheming/killing fathers anyways, but that by allying with them, she could help to curb some of their worst impulses (or at least in her view). In the end, it leads to the question of just who was using who, but I think that this viewpoint plays into part of what helps Edelgard sleep at night (when she is ‘t having nightmares about her family anyways). That said, you’d think there would be more of a reckoning once Byleth finds out about this, although him being a nearly silent protagonist somewhat gets in the way of this. Then again, you could argue the Church path is basically said reaction (The choice is literally “I must kill Edelgard”). Also, really good points about Edelgard potentially helping lure Byleth to his death. Or perhaps she wanted to use the opportunity to liquidate her former allies in TWSITD who had outlived their usefulness, not realizing they had the power to stand up the the Sword of the Creator.

Ferdinand for instance I think would side with the church. He’s nobility and proud of it (while Edelgard opposes the class system). Also her first act as Empress is to dismiss his father from the family’s hereditary role of Prime Minister. His friendly rivalry could easily develop into a grudge or even vendetta with the stunts Edelgard pulls.

Haven’t got the game yet (waiting on delivery) but from one of the Youtube playthroughs, Seteth has “Judgement is passed!”

My guess is that the character is no longer usable, but still alive. This has been done before for story important characters so that they are still around for story purposes. My guess is that there are so many conversations with your house’s main cast that they didn’t want any of them killed off story-wise during the game (might die of wounds after the war though, which has sometimes been done in such situations, for example Echoes).

Did we ever find out what, if any, is the difference between minor and major crests? (Either gameplay or lore wise)

Not sure if this has been discussed anywhere else, but here goes. So from what we have heard from those reviewers who have the game, only one character can be a dancer and they were pretty sure the main character (Byleth) can not be said dancer. Just generally, Fire Emblem is careful not to give you more than one dancer to prevent shenanigans (even if they couldn’t dance for each other like in Heroes). Where else have have we seen dancing in this game? The school ball, as briefly seen in the trailer and the extended cutscene more recently put out on Youtube. Then there has to be a way of determining who gets to be the dancer which the protagonist, a teacher, cannot take part in. Also if dancer was a regular advanced class, which are apparently only available post-timeskip, I doubt the reviewers would have been able to talk about it. So so my guess is that the dancer will basically be the prom king/queen. Perhaps this is awarded to the character with the highest charm (nominally attracting the votes of students) or perhaps Byleth, as a disinterested teacher, is called to award the title of best dancer (seems more likely). What do others think of this theory?

All speculation here, but any info released or leaked is fair game, so beware spoilers. So now that we all know there will be a time skip as all the graduates go back to their homelands. What I haven’t seen much of is what our main character is going to be doing during those 5 years. That got me thinking. I see see a couple possibilities. 1) With the house leader - The first is that he goes back with the primary lord of the house he chose. This seems to be the most likely to me. The interesting question is why. Do they offer him a better deal to serve as their chief tactician rather than his poor overworked and under appreciated teaching job/glorified babysitting (maybe they have dental?). Perhaps he wants to quit because he has become disillusioned with the church? Perhaps he is fired/exiled/forced to flee and seek asylum (perhaps his relation to Nemesis is discovered or he screws something up?). Maybe he just doesn’t want to give up the bonds and friendships he has made (yawn). Maybe he is disheartened by something like his father coming down with a sudden terminal case of anime parent syndrome and just wants a change of scenery/pace? 2) At Garreg Mach Monastery - The second is that he stays at the monastery. He could remain a teacher (although it would be weird not to see 5 years worth of classes who could have been characters). Maybe he stays on to help with Hanneman’s crest research? Or perhaps he gets a position with the Knights of Seiros and basically spends 5 years on guard duty. Perhaps rising tensions mean the academy is on hiatus for teaching students and Byleth does some other job for them (Cook? Fishing instructor? Choir leader? Saint Statue polisher? Weed cutter?). The monastery certainly has no shortage of odd jobs without the students to do all the work. 3) Sleeping - Thirdly, he might be in some sort of stasis/hibernation/outrealm, perhaps courtesy of the Church or Sothis (or Nemesis or the night stalkers or whatever they are called, etc.) Whether to imprison him or heal/hide/protect him (think Breath if the Wild Link). Or perhaps due to time travel powers “misfiring”. 4) Elsewhere messing around - Finally he might spend his time elsewhere on Fodhlan. Perhaps just wandering, perhaps on the run or in hiding after being expelled/exiled from the academy, or perhaps leading his father’s mercenary band if something were to happen to the current leader (Ike parallels - Byleth could basically just check out a few years fighting bandits and pirates while the political situation escalates out of hand). Maybe serving as a foot soldier in an indecisive/long-running/low intensity conflict where not much happens? Or perhaps becoming a knight of vengeance hunting down brigands operating without a licence. Well these are are just some theories to start the discussion. What do all of you think is most likely?

Some of the recent footage released shows that the Western Church in Faergus has taken a turn to the heretical, which has led to conflict with the central church hierarchy at Garrag Mach. (Ignore spelling issues - sorry). Think of something like the Protestant Reformation. I could see Lonato rebelling against the increasingly questionable practices of the western church. The Western church then calls for aid from the central church, leading to Byleth and co. fighting Sir Lonato. Unfortunately, you only talk to him after defeating him in battle. The central church then then learns about the corruption of the Western church and as tensions rise they declare each other heretics, leading to the conflict we see where the Western Church tried to seize a holy site (holy coast) and the Central Church responds in force. Mad for the ultimate villain, both the flame emperor and the Western Church feel too much like early-mid game antagonists. The real evil mastermind is probably an evil dragon. Err I mean this is Fire Emblem... Also my guess would be that Seiros’ mother was a dragon/Mankete. One of her fangs created the whip sword. Nemesis (at least to Seiros seems to have) killed Seiros’ mother and took her magic whip sword. That is why Seiros wanted revenge and addressed the whip sword as “mother”. Perhaps enough wild speculation/legitimate theory crafting for one post though.