Opinions on that Fire Emblem Awakening Character #1 - #51 (Chrom & Robin & Grima)

[Moblin Major General]

(Darth)Validar: No, "I" am your father. He's one note, but even one note constitutes music in some cases.

Excellus: An ugly mix of Manfroy and Valtome, with the success rate lower both of them. Also, should've killed him in chapter 19.

Maribelle: Southern sass is Southern class. When I was into MLP:FiM was when I got Awakening, so her mannerisms fit well with Rarity's, as did her accent. That's well behind me now, but I still see a lot of Rarity in Maribelle especially her frailty.

[Emerson]

Neptune

I'M SORRY, I CAN'T UNHEAR IT

Maribelle is a really amazing character. She's actually rising up past Cords on my list. She has some really good supports, although I find the Robin support to be a bit... meh.

As a unit, she destroys. While Lissa has better mobility, Maribelle has a much better class, as well as some better growths for it.

Excellus

meh boring

Validar

meh boring

[TheSilentChloey]

Lon'qu

As a unit Lon'qu is usually one of my best units in the game. He's decent as a character and does have some aright supports.

Emmeryn

Most of what I feel about her is bland. Her death was made cheep by the fact that she was recruitable.

Gangrel

I hated this guy at first, but then I ended up feeling sorry for him enough to recruit him. He's a fairly decent unit.

Owain

A good solid unit with nice supports I don't mind him

Cynthia

[spoiler=Read at your own peril because it's going to hurt!]

While I don't mind Cynthia, there are a few things that need to be said about this little bitch.

First is that she looks HIDEOUS with Chrom's hair to me. No ifs buts or maybes it makes her look terrible. Second is that if she is Chrom's daughter she doesn't even know who her father is and ANYONE can call her "Pega Pony Princess" so that is no way to tell if he's her father or not, (personally I think that Sumia went and had an affair with someone else when Chrom left Ylisse to deal with Grima)! Now if Cynthia had have asked to see Chrom's Mark of Naga that would have made sense, and I could have accepted that but that she says for him to call her "Pega Pony Princess" just doesn't work out.

Maribelle

She's a good unit has nice supports and makes me laugh at times.

Excellus

Where's my Mire tome?! Seriously this guy pissed me off and not in the right way.

Validar

The most pathetic villian that ever existed he was the man I'd love to crit to death...he has no redeeming qualities at all.

Edited September 16, 2016 by TheSilentChloey

[Ertrick36]

Let's get riiiiight into the opinions.

Maybelle

Is "surprisingly not bad" a character archetype?

She was the lady that got me started on using the term "troglodyte" in my vernacular. Yeah, she's quite pompous, but she does have a noble heart as well. She makes attempts to befriend those from the lower classes, and her whole support line with Gaius is notoriously good. And she doesn't fault her son for failing to speak like a noble after he tried very hard. In the end, I actually quite like her, and she earns a spot in the higher crust of characters.

Excellsius Xtreme 9

No joke, I actually got confused when I first looked at this name. And this guy's... "face"... I hate to be the guy to judge by looks... but holy shit. It's a damn shame plastic surgery doesn't exist in the FE universe, dude. I'd say try to find Xane to teach you his tricks, but... is he even alive in the period Awakening takes place?

Anyway, his looks aren't the only thing that suck about him. You first encounter him when you kill Yen'fay, and find that he was... kind of sort of holding Say'ri hostage? Yet later, you find he doesn't really have much power. He just talks behind closed doors, and probably bribes people. When he's confronted by Walhart, no one has his back. A scheming villain could be interesting, but this guy is very uninteresting. No background, no motives beyond greed... just some bad guy who wants to be emperor of the world or whatever.

Bootleg Darth Vader

Ah, the Gharnef of the tale. The father reveal wasn't entirely surprising. I guess it really was the novelty that made it so great in Star Wars. He's probably a bit more interesting than your typical FE villain, but not by much. There are villains throughout Awakening that could've been more compelling, but you end up with a cult leader who's trying to resurrect a dead dragon. But having played FE for a couple years now, I've learned that you can't really get disappointed by a Validar, because the series is chock full of them, and that trend isn't likely to end anytime soon.

So I'll rip on Validar for being a bad villain, but for all intents and purposes, he fills his role appropriately. And indeed, you do gotta give him props for succeeding in, like, two different timelines. It's more than I can say for any of the villains in Fates.

[Ebony]

I'll post my opinion later but I have to say something

personally I think that Sumia went and had an affair with someone else when Chrom left Ylisse to deal with Grima)!

What the fuck? Are you really letting your otp bias get in the way and imply, without backup, that Sumia had an affair on Chrom?

What the fuck? That's pretty heavy handed with no backup, and you can say "oh headcanon" but that doesn't excuse the fact you're implying, again, Sumia cheated on Chrom for Cynthia making a mistake.

[TheSilentChloey]

I'll post my opinion later but I have to say something

What the fuck? Are you really letting your otp bias get in the way and imply, without backup, that Sumia had an affair on Chrom?

What the fuck? That's pretty heavy handed with no backup, and you can say "oh headcanon" but that doesn't excuse the fact you're implying, again, Sumia cheated on Chrom for Cynthia making a mistake.

Hey I said what I thought might have happened, not that it actually did. You must realise that it was only a thought, besides if Chrom is Cynthia's father one would think she'd be at the very least told what he looked like.

[Magical Glace]

Yeah there's no real excuse for Cynthia to mistake that generic assassin boss fir Chrom, considering he's the king of Ylisse.

That'd be like if one of us mistook a street thug for Barack Obama. She should at least have known he had blue hair, or the Exalt Brand on his shoulder.

[Emerson]

It's no excuse, but he had already died when she was still very young.

And everyone else in the army was dead as well.

I guess Chrom never had any portraits of himself or his family done once he became Exalt.

ok screw it this sounds really dumb now.

I can't even try and defend her, it makes me sound dumb.

Edited September 16, 2016 by TrueEm

[Moblin Major General]

It's no excuse, but he had already died when she was still very young.

And everyone else in the army was dead as well.

I guess Chrom never had any portraits of himself or his family done once he became Exalt.

ok screw it this sounds really dumb now.

I can't even try and defend her, it makes me sound dumb.

Sumia was pregnant with Cynthia when Chrom died? Makes sense, given the age gap between Lucina and her sibling.

[Ebony]

Hey I said what I thought might have happened, not that it actually did. You must realise that it was only a thought, besides if Chrom is Cynthia's father one would think she'd be at the very least told what he looked like.

Yeah but that still doesn't excuse the fact that even with your hate for Sumia, her having an affair is extremely out of character.

[Emerson]

Sumia was pregnant with Cynthia when Chrom died? Makes sense, given the age gap between Lucina and her sibling.

Hmm... that could explain it, but I thought Sumia died along with Chrom and the others fighting Grima? Maybe it's not explicetly stated, although Cynthia must've been at least like 5 when Sumia died since she remembers being given her mother's Pegasus (Cynthia/Sumia A Support).

[TheSilentChloey]

Hmm... that could explain it, but I thought Sumia died along with Chrom and the others fighting Grima? Maybe it's not explicetly stated, although Cynthia must've been at least like 5 when Sumia died since she remembers being given her mother's Pegasus (Cynthia/Sumia A Support).

Which makes Cynthia even WORSE to not remember her father!!

Yeah but that still doesn't excuse the fact that even with your hate for Sumia, her having an affair is extremely out of character.

I don't hate Sumia, I dislike her. Please do not put words into my mouth.

[RoyLKing]

Alright, the final update of the awakening characters thread, Robin, Chrom, and Grima. What is your opinion on those characters?

And in case you were wondering, I won't do any new threads any time soon, since I've been getting tired of doing these and updating everyday, that's why I stopped commenting my opinions, but I'll think about the next thread I make whenever I decide I'm in the mood to make another one of these.

[Ebony]

Maribelle

Better supports than people expects. She's a sweetheart under all of that sass and tongue lashings. I tend to use her as much as I can, even if she isn't the best unit there is. Nice class set with one of my favorite kids. Her support with Lon'qu is great, her support with Gaius is great... I love Maribelle.

Those two guys

They exist.

Chrom

Alright. Not the best lord by a far stretch, but I appreciate his normality when it comes to him being with wackier characters. I don't get why people find him super attractive though besides the voice. Fangirls kinda ruined my opinion of him. Could be worse.

Robin

I prefer em over Corrin. Grandmaster is an awesome class. MRobin is husbando material, if I could I'd probably S rank him asap. He also has a super good voice (DAVID VINCENT) and has a better support with Chrom than FRobin. If they had the same supports but just stamped on an S rank for FRobin, I would prefer that over their bickering S rank.

Fun to play in Smash. i want his amiibo just so i can get him in fates.....

Grima

THIS ISN'T MY BEAUTIFUL LOPTYR

I don't hate Sumia, I dislike her. Please do not put words into my mouth.

I don't often differentiate between it, especially when your language describing characters leans more on hating than "disliking."

[Thane]

Chrom

Like all Fire Emblem protagonists rather bland and underdeveloped, but he makes me laugh and plays a good straight man to all the nonsense that goes on around him, and for that he ranks higher up than most.

Robin

Too much hero worship and too central to the plot in the end, but I can see where they were going with them and their role in the army makes sense. I wish they had been a bit more of their own character and had less going for them, but I will be blunt, my opinion of Robin has only improved after having endured playing Fates. It may not be fair to like Robin more because of a game they didn't have a story presence in, but I can't help it.

Awesome design and class, too, by the way. If avatars will be a staple in the series from here on out (which I think is more or less guaranteed), then I think you could tweak the Robin archetype and turn it into a decent self-insert.

Grima

Alduin, Deathwing, Medeus...zzz...giant dragons are generally very uninteresting villains. I'd go so far as to say bad villains are the series' biggest flaw story-wise, and Grima is no exception. At least he's tolerable in Future Past.

[Magical Glace]

Chrom - Boring. Makes a good dad for Inigo though.

Robin - Oh boy. This guy is insultingly poor as a character, and gets praised for stuff he really should not. Also, like Basilio he's directly associated with the Gules Asspull, which leads me into...

Grima - Perhaps the most boring, underdeveloped major named villain this series has ever produced. He has literally no personality, no explanation on where he came from, and literally just seems to exist for the sake of having a non-human final boss. Also, he has his own asspull: "Psyche! I never actually needed the Fire Emblem! Muahahaha!"

[Emerson]

*Snipped!*

Pretty much that.

[Ertrick36]

Bred Chrom

Alright, here he is; our Lord of this entry. Naturally, he's a fairly strong character; one would hope he'd be, since he's one of the protagonists. So far, he's one of my more favorite lords in the series (at least from what I've played), but I like his daughter more, since she has a more compelling backstory and a better reason for being strong. Though Chrom isn't without his share of trauma, as we learn right before the first assassination attempt on Emmeryn. But generally, as I said before, he serves as an anchor of normality in a sea of bizarre and gimmicky characters. And he has some nice supports.

Also a bro. Even though I totally violated dat bro code.

Robin Hood

What a stupid, cliche joke. So our other protagonist. There are less support differences between the genders for Robin than there are for Corrin, if I recall correctly, but not many. I honestly would've preferred if female Robin bonded with Chrom in a similar way male Robin does, instead of... hot, steamy bath house scenes that lead to them seeing each other naked. That's... just weird. And vaguely sexist in a few ways. Other than that, Robin's role in the supports is more like Stahl in that it's more about the other character, which really makes sense since Robin is the self-insert and has immense plot relevance anyway.

Overall, I think Robin's a bit of an improvement over Chris. At least Robin's importance makes more sense; Chris is just some person that was slapped onto the story of a game that was already beatable without him/her (yet was still stated as being the sole reason Marth was able to defeat Medeus), whereas Robin's the person in charge of all the tactics the army employs. Do I think Robin gets too much attention and praise? Yes. Are some of his/her tactics ridiculous and stupid? Absolutely. But when I play a game, I can suspend my disbelief to an extent. And in my opinion, nothing Robin does is any worse than Nohrin. Not by a long shot.

Robin's a Mary Sue/Stu who I've softened up to because of Corrin. Like Thane said, with some work, Robin could turn out to be a great archetype for the self-inserts the series will surely see more of if it's given some modifications. I mean, they already technically did it with Blazing Sword, and it makes a lot of sense, given that the player is the one dictating the tactics the army will employ.

Grima

The Big Bad Dragon^TM is an old crutch FE has been relying too much on. When you're rehashing a story from the NES days, it's hard to make your story absolutely astounding and unique. Everyone here and in the Fates Opinion thread have been commenting on how all the villains are either "wasted potential" or "generic villain #583", whereas a decent chunk of the playable characters have gotten quite the praise.

To me, that says the problem is all the bad villains, and that includes the main villain of almost every game. There are other problems, sure - there's never a "catch-all" for any issue like this - but a good starting point is to work on how the villains are done. And I know the audience this game is primarily marketed to can comprehend a bit of political intrigue and moral ambiguity; hell, when I was a teenager, I was fully engrossed in the stories of the Metal Gear series, and sometimes those games make you wonder if you aren't the bad guy. It doesn't have to be much, but you can make a compelling villain that still deserves to die. Takumi and even Hardin were almost right. One can become evil without being possessed or innately evil. I mean, FE proves that bad people can become good without the need for hypnosis, so why can't it go the other way?

I know I was light on Validar. And I said that I can't be disappointed in the recurring story elements that are less than stellar. But at the same time, I can still hope for better without being disappointed. I can ask for better. I play these games primarily for the gameplay, supports, and even some of the characters, but a well-written story couldn't hurt. IS just... needs to make sure they're ready to deliver on that instead of biting off more than they can chew. Until then, I'll live with the boring dragons and generic scheming villains.

At least he's tolerable in Future Past.

For what it's worth, I like him making more of an attempt to stop the heroes in Future Past. Just him actually getting involved with the heroes (and addressing them more, too) makes him a better villain than he was before, as it shows that he knows he can be defeated. I also liked fighting him on top of the castle instead of on his own back. It's more challenging since there's all the rubble and whatnot, and if you want to speak with the children, you need to make sure to protect them.

[Thinks Their Own Way]

Chrom- Why does he make some random stranger he found on the ground his top tactician? Why is nobody other than Fredrick questioning this?

Robin- Why do the sheperds give a shit about them? Why does Robin give a shit about what happens to them?

Grima- I like them when they were still surrounded in mystery and then they revealed themselves.... that's it. It doesn't help that their boss fight is easy to the point of it being anti-climatic.

[TheSilentChloey]

Chrom

I think it's pretty obvious, but I will say it here, Chrom is my husbando...and while I HATE his supports with F!Robin, they do make the best in game couple (Robin having more screen time than any other wife that Chrom may have). Chrom is litterally one of my most used units and rarely fails me when I need him the most. He does seem flat to some people but overall I love Chrom. He's a good father for Morgan and Lucina

Robin

How Corrin/Kamui should have been done, perhaps toned down a bit, but still. Robin and Morgan are litterally the best units in Awakening, so there is that going for them.

Grima

Kill the fucking thing with fire. I hate Grima with a passion...at least until Annakos took his place as most hated, but that's just how it is for the bad guys.

[Ertrick36]

Chrom- Why does he make some random stranger he found on the ground his top tactician? Why is nobody other than Fredrick questioning this?

Robin- Why do the sheperds give a shit about them? Why does Robin give a shit about what happens to them?

Shhhh... be quiet. Logic is a forbidden concept; to even utilize it in a minor way would bring about even more confusion and stupidity. So the Gods say, and so they shall be.

Seriously though, I can't believe I didn't touch upon how ridiculous all of that is. I mean, I guess Robin gives a shit about them because of their hospitality, but why do they give Robin hospitality in the first place? 'Cuz they're just that nice?

It doesn't help that their boss fight is easy to the point of it being anti-climatic.

It's like those silly parody cartoons where the hero makes a bad joke or farts on the villain, and the villain just flops over like a salamander that got its tail cut off. I mean, you look at his skills and stats and think "holy shit", but then you find Chrom's Falchion can one-shot him, pretty much. But I guess that's how it is with lots of FE final bosses.

He does seem flat to some people...

Perhaps some think he does, but I think the majority like him well enough. Hell, lots of people bitch about how Lucina got in Super Smash Bros over Chrom, so much so that it made me think that people like Chrom more than Lucina. I know there are other stated reasons for this, but still... In any case, if he fell flat for the audience, he wouldn't have been one of the highest rated male characters in the game by most polls... unless of course all the others were bad, which is definitely not the case.

Robin and Morgan are litterally the best units in Awakening, so there is that going for them.

It's not even a contest since they're practically the only units who always have access to every single class aside from the special classes. Female Robin with Galeforce is an absolute nightmare. At least they tried to tone down the OPness of the self-insert in Fates, but even then, making a female Corrin will give you access to all the classes in the game via Friendship Seal, and male Corrin can gain access to almost all the classes in the same way, so it's just some extra steps you have to take to get 'em all.

I'm probably not going to post a closing paragraph in this thread since I forgot to do so in my last post and the thread'll be abandoned very soon (or it seems likely, anyway). I'll just say this: Awakening was the reason I got into FE, much like it was for many people, and I think it got me hooked because it had several wonderful characters and a gameplay mechanic that allowed us to become closer to them. It has flaws, sure, but it's all around a great experience. It was good enough to get me to play it much, much more than either Super Smash Bros for 3DS or Tomodachi Life, both games of which I was highly anticipating.

[Fire Emblem Fan]

Alright, the final update of the awakening characters thread, Robin, Chrom, and Grima. What is your opinion on those characters?

Robin:

Ah, Robin. I think Robin is an improvement from Chris, and also better than Corrin. But, he still could have been so much better. Robin was way too integral to the plot, he really took the spotlight away from Chrom and Lucina. Awakening should have been their game, not his. However, I must note that he doesn't actually have much plot importance while Gangrel is the villain! But once Gangrel is gone...yeah. And since Gangrel's section is short...yeah. But, still, of the three playable avatar characters in the series, Robin is the best, which still isn't saying all that much. Robin does have several solid supports, though! But, pretty much all of Robin's supports center around the OTHER person. I don't hate Robin, I don't even really dislike Robin! But...still not great. I do like the default male design, but I've found customized ones for the female that are better than the female default. As a unit, Robin is a beast! Just...a freaking beast!

Chrom:

Chrom is...actually pretty good. He suffers from having a lot of spotlight stolen by Robin, but he remains a nice enough character with mostly good supports. I like him! But he's not without flaws, of course. He's way too quick to trust Robin, and some of his decisions throughout the game are questionable. I like his design well enough, but it definitely isn't my favorite in the series, and as a unit he's one of the best!

Grima:

Yeah...so, I made it pretty clear that I'm not all that fond of Validar, right? Well...I'm even less fond of Grima. And that's all that really needs to be said about that.

EDIT: I just realized that we didn't talk about Nowi! So my opinion on Nowi...she's a bit too childish and her design/outfit is pretty awful, but otherwise she's okay. I like her more than her daughter. As a unit, she's okay. Not great, but not really terrible.

Edited September 17, 2016 by Fire Emblem Fan

[Thane]

I must say I don't see what makes Chrom worse than other lords in the series. I rather like the guy for at least being funny, while the other lords all blend into an inseparable, unimpressive mess, not including Ike. I cannot for the life of me remember a single line anyone in the trio says in Blazing Sword, aside from when Hector murders a bystander in cold blood and gets a high five for it.

[BrightBow]

I must say I don't see what makes Chrom worse than other lords in the series. I rather like the guy for at least being funny, while the other lords all blend into an inseparable, unimpressive mess, not including Ike. I cannot for the life of me remember a single line anyone in the trio says in Blazing Sword, aside from when Hector murders a bystander in cold blood and gets a high five for it.

That guy caused more damage then most villains in the series, not out of malice but simply on virtue of not giving a damn about what happens outside his own lawn. After overthrowing the king of Plegia, he did absolutely nothing to stabilize the country. If he did, he would have known who the new king of Plegia was as a new king could only have risen to power through Chrom's blessing. Also, Chrom would have been able to call bullshit on Vallidar's claim that Plegia did not have any soldiers unless he left the country in a state where it was unable to protect itself. Aversa even offhandedly calls him out on it in chapter 22 and he doesn't even notice.

He did the same thing in Valm. "Our business in Valm is finished... To Ylisstol!" The power vacuum left behind by Wallhart would result in constant wars between the individual territories.

Keep in mind that the game reminded us all the time that the dynasties were purely self-serving opportunists. Like in this line of chapter 15:

"Greed. Jealousy. Sloth. All the old weaknesses of man. The dynasts all would have freedom, but on their own terms. Some refuse to take up arms unless their territory is threatened. Others thrive under the Conqueror's heel and will not join unless there is profit in it. Liberty is a fine word, aye, but not always enough to rouse men from foolishness."

So it's completely absurd to think that after Wallhart was overthrown, everyone would just play nice with each other instead of trying to take advantage of the situation.

And of course the big one: When he learned that Robin would have to be sacrificed in order to stop Grima, he was completely against it, not even acknowledging the responsibility that he has towards the country that he is the freaking ruler of. And this is after he talked big towards Wallhart that he would be the one to unite the whole friggin' world:

Walhart

ME, JOIN YOU?! Does a pegasus join with the flea on its back? A dragon, with a cow it eats?! You forget your place, BOY. I am the Conqueror! I will unite the world!

Chrom

No! ...I will. And not by forcing all the people to choose the sword or the knee. Peace will only come by stoking people's hearts...not their fear.

That is his ultimate failure as a Lord: To completely ignore the responsibilities that come with the title.

Edited September 17, 2016 by BrightBow

[Moblin Major General]

That guy caused more damage then most villains in the series, not out of malice but simply on virtue of not giving a damn about what happens outside his own lawn. After overthrowing the king of Plegia, he did absolutely nothing to stabilize the country. If he did, he would have known who the new king of Plegia was as a new king could only have risen to power through Chrom's blessing. Also, Chrom would have been able to call bullshit on Vallidar's claim that Plegia did not have any soldiers unless he left the country in a state where it was unable to protect itself. Aversa even offhandedly calls him out on it in chapter 22 and he doesn't even notice.

He did the same thing in Valm. "Our business in Valm is finished... To Ylisstol!" The power vacuum left behind by Wallhart would result in constant wars between the individual territories.

Keep in mind that the game reminded us all the time that the dynasties were purely self-serving opportunists. Like in this line of chapter 15:

"Greed. Jealousy. Sloth. All the old weaknesses of man. The dynasts all would have freedom, but on their own terms. Some refuse to take up arms unless their territory is threatened. Others thrive under the Conqueror's heel and will not join unless there is profit in it. Liberty is a fine word, aye, but not always enough to rouse men from foolishness."

So it's completely absurd to think that after Wallhart was overthrown, everyone would just play nice with each other instead of trying to take advantage of the situation.

And of course the big one: When he learned that Robin would have to be sacrificed in order to stop Grima, he was completely against it, not even acknowledging the responsibility that he has towards the country that he is the freaking ruler of. And this is after he talked big towards Wallhart that he would be the one to unite the whole friggin' world:

That is his ultimate failure as a Lord: To completely ignore the responsibilities that come with the title.

The war between Plegia and Ylisse did equal damage to either country.Regna Ferox was totally undamaged, plus it had two rulers that were probably 4 times Chrom's age, with the attached experience to boot. Also, for Valm, remember the extent which Excellus extorted the dynasts. After Basilio "died" he could've rallied the dynasts while looking for the Darksphere and killed the greedy ones. Chrom isn't too bright, but he seems to know this, which makes him actually very wise. As for refusing too sacrifice Robin, where is that necessary? When Lucina would kill him in cold blood? When Naga only suggests that Robin killing Grima is a viable alternative? Chrom isn't putting Ylisse first by sacrificing the person that has kept him and Ylisse alive. Robin is also a widely regarded hero, and would probably be mourned in equal measure to Chrom (fuck headcanons, he's still a lawful good protagonist). Chrom would be immortalized like Marth was if he slew Grima and lived, all the while sparing his friend, who leaves like the Hero of Shadow before him.