Left Handed units

[Zapp Branniglenn]

So I was grinding out supports in Sacred Stones when I got to Gilliam and Garcia's B conversation. In it, we learn that Gilliam is left handed. Naturally, this isn't reflected in Gameplay, as Fire Emblem 1-8 do not use 3D models, they use sprites that are easily mirrored. Your units appear and attack on the right while enemies are on the left. Right handed and left handed units are based entirely on their class and I never stopped to notice how bizzare this is in practice. Eirika and Ephraim go from right handed to left handed upon promoting to Great Lord. Cavaliers go from left to right in both their promotions. With Path or Radiance came 3D models, and now units could be right handed all the time, and not always attack from the right. But an approximate 10% of people in the world are left handed, so surely we could see canonically left handed Fire Emblem units now. I had my 3DS handy and thumbed through my Fates units, no left handers. I suppose the dark mages are ambiguous - they hold the tome in their right but extend their left arms for attacks. Since magic is not the use of a tool or weapon, I don't think the choice of arm in holding the book or aiming the spell is important. But we will be seeing one left hander in the next game:

Which is interesting because Alm's artwork for him in Gaiden and in Awakening DLC has him as a right hander. Being left handed makes a considerable difference in a fight. To use boxing as an example, left handed boxers have the "southpaw" fighting style, which can really throw off which directions you'd expect certain blows to come from. Do you want to see more Left handed units in Fire Emblem just for variety's sake? Can you think of canonically left handed units (preferably in both gameplay and official artwork) that I've missed? Could you see left handed-ness or ambidextrous fighting styles being a personal feature in a fire emblem game? You may recall affinities and holy blood as gameplay concepts in previous titles.

[Dragoncat]

I don't see it being a thing like affinities or holy blood, but interesting to think about nonetheless. I think it's a good thing for supports like your Gilliam example. 

Using official artwork isn't really the best way to tell tbh, sure he's holding the sword in his left, our right, but he's also not fighting. Idk.

[Acacia Sgt]

I'd certainly welcome it. Natually, it would have to remain a very low amount, but personally, I found it great to see left-handed fictional people.

8 minutes ago, Dragoncat said:

I don't see it being a thing like affinities or holy blood, but interesting to think about nonetheless. I think it's a good thing for supports like your Gilliam example. 

Using official artwork isn't really the best way to tell tbh, sure he's holding the sword in his left, our right, but he's also not fighting. Idk.

I'd agree on that. I doubt it would ever have an impact on the gameplay.

From the animations, he fights left-handed as well.

[KoimanZX]

One would think that it would be pretty for Intelligent Systems to do with their switch to 3D models, but the reclassing system seems to encourage the reusing of the same animations. So I really do not see any character being left-handed unless they are of a special class.

[ChibiToastExplosion]

19 hours ago, KoimanZX said:

One would think that it would be pretty for Intelligent Systems to do with their switch to 3D models, but the reclassing system seems to encourage the reusing of the same animations. So I really do not see any character being left-handed unless they are of a special class.

Well, alm is pretty special, haha.

Also may be a sign that re-classing is out for Echoes - you pick a villager's class and you just stick with what ya got (unless they still have the dread fighter loop). Without re-classing, it could really help with details like this.

[Extrasolar]

Tibarn seems to be left-handed, if the fact that he punches (when in human form) predominately with his left arm is any indication.

Didn't realize it till I saw one of those "Final Extreme" videos on him in POR, haha.

[Jotari]

You can't really use 3D models as a definitive statement to say everyone is right handed. Most models are rigged so a large number of classes can use them. Official artwork and units of exclusive classes are better to go on. And even then that can be really inconsistent. Ashnard for example seems to like to hold his massive sword in his left hand only when looking out over crowds.

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

But when slaying kings or fighting in gameplay he becomes a boring old righty.

Spoiler

 

Edited February 17, 2017 by Jotari

[Ikefan89]

I would like to see more I am personally left handed so seeing more units that I have something in common

[vanguard333]

@Jotari I can't believe I never noticed that. Then again, the handle of Ashnard's sword is almost long enough to be that of a smaller polearm, and for a two-handed polearm, you normally want to swap hands when swapping which direction you're cutting from because of the sheer length of the handle, so that might explain why he holds it interchangeably with either hand.

 

33 minutes ago, Ikefan89 said:

I would like to see more I am personally left handed so seeing more units that I have something in common

Same; especially since the previous left-handed hero, Link from The Legend of Zelda, turned traitor in Skyward Sword and Breath of the Wild.

[AnonymousSpeed]

I personally think handedness is a pretty lame "identity category", if that's even the right word. If the next FE game had an entirely left-handed cast, I probably wouldn't notice and I really wouldn't care.

[vanguard333]

1 hour ago, AnonymousSpeed said:

I personally think handedness is a pretty lame "identity category", if that's even the right word. If the next FE game had an entirely left-handed cast, I probably wouldn't notice and I really wouldn't care.

I have to ask: how much do you know about what left-handed people have to go through today and had to go through in the past?

There are a ton of different things that left-handed people like myself go through on a fairly regular occurrence; little biases in predominately right-handed society. If you want examples, wikipedia has an entire article titled, 'Bias against left-handed people" that includes a lot of examples, including some that even I didn't know about. Here's a link to it:

Bias against left-handed people - Wikipedia

For a small but personal example, just a few weeks ago, I was having to provide my signature via writing on an electronic screen using an electronic pen; the pen was connected to the device via a wire on the right side of the device, and the wire was not nearly long enough to easily write on the screen with my left hand; the person at the desk had to hold the device so that I could hold the wire in place with my right hand while writing, and it was still very uncomfortable. I even muttered to myself, "Stupid right-handed design" and the person at the desk said that she hears that from every left-handed person that has to write their signature in the device.

Considering the combination of societal biases and physical biases that are present to this day, I'd say that handedness is not a 'lame' "identity category" at all.

[AnonymousSpeed]

I'm just saying, I've never heard of a hate-crime against a person for being left-handed.

[Acacia Sgt]

15 minutes ago, AnonymousSpeed said:

I'm just saying, I've never heard of a hate-crime against a person for being left-handed.

You were born a couple centuries late for that. Thank goodness!

Or perhaps only a few decades late.

Edited October 1, 2021 by Acacia Sgt

[AnonymousSpeed]

Just now, Acacia Sgt said:

You were born a couple centuries late for that. Thank goodness!

Truly society has made great strides and progress.

[Acacia Sgt]

Just now, AnonymousSpeed said:

Truly society has made great strides and progress.

Well, still in the past century you had kids being beaten the left-handedness out of them. Literally.

[AnonymousSpeed]

25 minutes ago, Acacia Sgt said:

Well, still in the past century you had kids being beaten the left-handedness out of them. Literally.

Yeah, but you also had kids being beaten for not keeping their legs still, so it was really just their general approach to things.

EDIT: And it worked better, too.

Edited October 1, 2021 by AnonymousSpeed

[Acacia Sgt]

14 minutes ago, AnonymousSpeed said:

Yeah, but you also had kids being beaten for not keeping their legs still, so it was really just their general approach to things.

EDIT: And it worked better, too.

Except with left-handedness it was specifically because of it, not because it was the norm to addressing a "problem." It goes all the way back when many cultures decided to associate the concept of left with that of evil. Why do you think Right is... well, Right? The assigned Good and Evil parameters to both directions, and we got the short-end of the stick there.

[Use the Falchion]

I'm surprised Marisa hasn't been mentioned yet. Marisa is canonically confirmed to be left-handed in her supports with Tethys, and is holding her sword with her left hand in official game artwork, her official sprite, and Heroes artwork. She's also ambidextrous, as mentioned in the same support, and this is reflected in her Vanilla Heroes unit, where she wields her sword with her right hand up until her special ability activates, in which she switches to her left hand. 

While OP mentioned Eirika and Ephraim, Eliwood is also a slightly similar case too, in that his Knight Lord sprite is also left-handed. Eliwood's resting Legendary Heroes artwork also shows him holding Durandal with his left hand. The rest of the art shows him using Durandal with his right however, so this may simply be a call-back/shoutout/reference to how Eliwood wields the sword with his left hand during the attack animations rather than hinting at the character actually being left-handed or ambidextrous. 

Edited October 2, 2021 by Use the Falchion

[vanguard333]

4 hours ago, Acacia Sgt said:

Except with left-handedness it was specifically because of it, not because it was the norm to addressing a "problem." It goes all the way back when many cultures decided to associate the concept of left with that of evil. Why do you think Right is... well, Right? The assigned Good and Evil parameters to both directions, and we got the short-end of the stick there.

Just to add to your point, according to that article to which I left a link, forced conversion from left-handedness to right-handedness is still prevalent in some countries to this day. It's no longer done in schools as far as I'm aware, but it is still a real issue.

[Kori]

With personal skills being a thing in the new games, I think it would be neat if they made a left-handed character whose personal skill reduces the enemy's avoid, to represent the advantage that attacking from an unexpected angle can give you. Nothing that defines them as an unit or character, but a little detail that adds something to them on both fronts.

[vanguard333]

On 10/2/2021 at 2:22 AM, Kori said:

With personal skills being a thing in the new games, I think it would be neat if they made a left-handed character whose personal skill reduces the enemy's avoid, to represent the advantage that attacking from an unexpected angle can give you. Nothing that defines them as an unit or character, but a little detail that adds something to them on both fronts.

That would be neat. And, as a left-handed HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts) practitioner, I can confirm that that advantage is real. It's not as huge an advantage when using two-handed weapons as it is in something like sport fencing, but it is an advantage.