egobarrier

I did manage to get a JP script dump from /vg/. In case anyone else wants it: https://files.catbox.moe/edmkl5.zip

Part of the zip in Azz's post here, all the WakeUp_XXX.txt files:

I've seen the English script dump, but is there a JP dump to compare it to? All I've seen are isolated examples. On a different note, while I think the wake-up mechanic itself is kind of dumb, some of the conversations are surprisingly sweet. I think this bit in particular just cemented Timerra as my first S-Support.

The first big one we saw was Axe Fighter Vander way back in Marth's showcase. Even if Axe Fighter -> Axe Paladin turns out to be a standard promotion in this game we have every reason to believe Vander joins as a pre-promote.

Hmm, only one ticket at the amiibo Gazebo in the English version, and nothing appears to have been bought already. That implies you only get 1 ticket per FE amiibo rather than the 3 per that some were hoping for, unless that 1 is just a freebie that all save files get or something (which would mean 2 per amiibo). Not sure if that's a figure of speech or a soft confirmation that outfits can be used in battle.

Korean version of the topics article. https://www.nintendo.co.kr/news/view.php?no=WHFsbGFGUmYyazN1RnlkVUc2YjM5dz09

I mean, I didn't say I LIKED the idea, just that maybe that was what they were going for. It kind of does have to be an axe as long as they're trying to make his gimmick "master of the weapon triangle," though of course there's no reason it had to be that way in the first place. But since that is what they're going for it does bring up a possible counterpoint on the Brave Axe, namely that Emblem Leif switches to an advantageous weapon when attacked. If brave weapons work the same as in Fates--which seems reasonable, given the lack of weapon durability--the brave effect might be Player Phase-only and wouldn't be a good fit with his Engage Skill.

If the purple one has been confirmed to be Swap, then my money is on brown being Draw Back and teal being Shove, and the designs are just over-simplified approximations for the sake of easy recognizably. I would guess Reposition would be the only one to get 3 circles. The alternative could be one of them is Pivot, but honestly I don't see them giving us Pivot, it's just not a very useful tactic in a full-scale FE. It makes sense in Heroes since the movement range is so limited and there are no other commands beyond "Fight", "Assist" and "Wait", but in a game with much larger movement ranges and many more options to choose from it doesn't make much sense to use up a skill slot for Pivot, a turn-ending action that does nothing but conditionally let your unit move 2 extra spaces. I don't think it's a coincidence that it's the only Heroes positional assist that DIDN'T reappear in 3H.

I agree that I wish Leif did a better job representing Thracia specifically--giving him the ability to capture generics would have been especially fitting--but just to play devil's advocate, in FE4 everything essentially becomes a Killer weapon if you use it enough times, so giving him a Killer weapon may be a reference to that.

I agree, although I do think the expansion pass including a repeatable trial map designed for SP grinding is a distinct possibility.

Hey, I was right, nice. And Killer Axe for Leif, huh? That makes me happy. Everyone kept saying it was Helswath to the point that I assumed that that had already been confirmed, but it always seemed weird to me since, unlike Byleth with the Hero's Relics, Leif shouldn't be able to wield ANY Crusader weapons since he lacks any kind of major holy blood (to say nothing of the fact that Helswath, as an enemy-only weapon, would be especially random). Glad to see they're being lore-faithful.

Edit: I really need to start paying attention to other threads with what is and isn't old news...

They brought petting back for the rings. I'm dying.

I'd say there's no need for the devs to resort to censorship, they could just not equip the Emblem, or keep Alear off-screen, or choose another map, any number of other methods instead of censoring a scene such that it doesn't reflect what the final game will (or at least is planned to) look like. As for my guesses: Alear gets some skill that is based on how full their Emblem Gauge is, like "Boosts Hit and Avoid by 3 x <Emblem Gauge Charge>" or something, and even if they don't equip an Emblem they still get a Gauge so the skill isn't worthless. Or perhaps a unique combat art that requires Emblem Gauge charge as a cost Enemies stealing Emblems and/or the Emblem standing around as a boss makes the Emblem "empty," but the gauge is still there for when you take them back Emblems don't all start out as unlocked. Maybe the first time you get e.g. Micaiah's ring she's "sleeping" and the Emblem's contents are a mystery to the player until you awaken her, but you can still Engage with her to access her first skill Alear is able to engage with something other than the 12 Emblems. This could be the 13th "Fire Emblem," or maybe they can use the gauge to use their own Divine Dragon abilities. Or if Veyle is really on our side and is not the evil hooded figure maybe Alear can use the gauge to channel her powers like Sothis or Arval.

My read of the description (both the English and the Japanese) is that the Smash effect is strictly player phase, and on enemy phase it's just a regular sword that can't double. That seems perfectly useful for positional strategies like lining up foes to finish them off with Sigurd's charge or moving one enemy closer to another so that Celica's Echoes can finish them both off.

Minor swords makes for an interesting possibility. If I squint at the one on the left I can kind of see it as a Lancereaver. If those ended up being something like Lancereaver and Runesword on top of his Binding Blade that would provide a nice range of effects despite being swordlocked.

Claude still looks great, I like his outfit and don't miss his sideburns-into-beard look his timeskip self had going on. Hilda still looks lovely, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss her war phase hairstyle. Buns just don't do it for me. Raphael feels perfect for him, even moreso than his Three houses outfits, but I don't especially like it on a personal level, not unlike Bernadetta's new look. Lysithea looks good (as always), and her simpler design makes for a nice contrast with her more ornate timeskip look. Having her bangs cut straight now threw me for a bit of a loop though; combined with the dip created by her hairbands it gives her something like an imitation hime cut, which is an interesting change given the kinds of characters that normally get (true) hime cuts, but I don't dislike it. Lorenz looks like timeskip Lorenz with shorter hair. That's not BAD (I actually like timeskip Lorenz), but it feels like a missed opportunity to do more Ignatz just looks awkward. Definitely echoing the sentiment that he's still trying to be a knight even though that doesn't suit him, which works conceptually, but I prefer his timeskip look where he DOES know who he wants to be. Marianne with her hair down is something I always knew I needed, and she looks perfect here. I don't really know what more to say beyond that. You go, girl. Leonie feels like a step down from her war phase glow-up, but the plain look fits her cost-cutting personality, and she's still much better than her school phase look, so it could have been worse. Overall, I probably like Lysithea the most due to personal bias, but Marianne probably wins for best glow-up.

Looks like Lysithea and Sylvain have the most supports of anyone after Byleth, at 17 and 18 respectively. Though I give the edge to Lysithea, considering she manages 11 supports that reach A/S versus Sylvain's 6. Poor guy must be getting rejected left and right.

I don't really have any breather games to fill the gaps, so I'll either play through everything if it's good or probably drop it and get around to it later if it's not, as I did with Revelations. But you're right that the game is starting to sound almost daunting in scope. I intend to fully play through all routes at least once, but even the idea of playing through the same route again with different recruited characters just to see the dialog differences is starting to sound exhausting. I never thought I'd say this, but I kind of wish Phoenix Mode was still here to speed things along.

I'm more interested if there's a way for her to use Catherine's Thunderbrand, considering Charon's crest is on it. That would make Mortal Savant a very interesting option for her, at least to me.

Ah. I rarely venture into Youtube's comments section.

That's...just the intro video?

You know, I do actually wonder what the power dynamics really are in this case. Byleth's being given this teaching position because of some combination of their displayed abilities, their famous dad, and whatever Rhea might know/suspect. They're still ultimately a random outsider not everyone at the monastery is even sure they can trust (Seteth, for instance), so it's a bit hard for me to imagine Byleth could actually exert the kind of power you'd see with more conventional teachers. Doubly so when you consider that most of these students are scions of nobility or other wealthy families, some of which no doubt have much stronger ties to the church than a sellsword's son. And even that's assuming such power plays can exist with the student in question; many of them appear to be here solely to better themselves for when they go on to serve the roles they've already been guaranteed from birth, and an F on their report card isn't going to change that. The only move Byleth can pull that's coming to my mind is maneuvering them to get killed in battle, but that's hardly limited to the students. Once Byleth's presumably leading the army in the war phase even the former teachers are at their mercy, just like everyone Robin and Corrin may have wanted to romance.

Pretty sure that's Gilbert.

A finale path that closes out the overarching story could be good, but only with a few caveats. First, the other routes would need to stand on their own and not feel incomplete or invalidated by this 4th route. I could get behind three routes of country politics followed by a route of dragon slaying and Sothis exposition, but the three countries better not come out better off than their own routes in the process. Second, I can get behind anyone being recruitable, but it's boring to have everyone be recruitable. It just feels contrived. I'd rather have to pick 12 favored students to join me while the other 12 tragically fall in battle or something. I don't know, just don't be everyone.