Which Path would you prefer as Canon & Why?

[NeonZ]

Both Conquest and Birthright in parallel worlds, followed by Heirs of Fates DLC. It's a much more satisfying conclusion than Revelation.

Edited February 20, 2017 by NeonZ

[Etria]

The one where Gunter gets the attention he deserves, aka Revelations. My fav <3

[DragonFlames]

On 18.2.2017 at 5:06 AM, Sunwoo said:

Birthright, because it's able to stand on its own more so than the other two. Yes, it's also very standard FE but that's why I prefer it to be the "canon" route. Conquest borrows far too much from the third route, and in a way it spits on the previous FE games when it says Corrin can do all the things they did on that path and still be a beloved hero -- even by the people whose lives they had ruined.

Revelation is supposed to be the "golden" route and the best ending, though it feels undeserved and cheap. Once Corrin gets both sides together, it feels as if the two sides get along a little too well, and Valla was a mistake. I think ideally, Fates should've been a more fleshed out Birthright with no children, no other paths, and some of the Nohrians being recruitable.

This.

At least on Birthright, Corrin actually gets his act together for once. And this is coming from someone who prefers the Conquest characters with the exception of Xander and Forrest to the Birthright characters with the exception of Hana who is undisputed best girl anyway.

[HylianBelmont]

I suppose it's Revelation for me really. Because it's the only one where you actually deal with the main threat behind everything, who also makes for an awesome final boss IMHO. 

And I found it's ending to be the most enjoyable as well. 

[Hithere]

Either Conquest Or Birthright can be canon I think. In my opinion i think Birthright is probably canon 

[SavageVolug]

That is really hard to say. REALLY HARD. First off both Birthright and Conquest have their plot problems. At the end of the day both kingdoms have their problems, Hoshido is extremely racist towards Nohr (understandably so, but I digress), and have constructed a magical barrier that not only keeps Nohrian troops out but will also remove the fighting spirit from those that do penetrate. Such a barrier had to have been designed like this on purpose something like that is not made by accident, and makes us question why Hoshido is making mind controlling barriers as they're defense instead of bolstering it's military forces or something.

Nohr obviously has an evil ruler with an equally evil advisor and a body guard who's happy as long as he's killing people. Camilla and Peri obviously have their mental issues. However to me while I can't imagine anyone abandoning the only family they've known since early child hood, so as long as you can remember, for a family that claims to be your real family. Whether they are or not doesn't matter, they are still complete strangers, you've grown up and love this other family to me I feel no one is going to just abandon the only family they have ever known. And while it looks like Nohr was behind the Hoshido attack, that is a little too obvious it has to be someone else (mystery book logic at work here). 

I'd have to say I would want Conquest to be the canon story if came to a choice between Conquest or Birthright, hopefully my explanation makes sense.

[SniperGYS]

I consider the three paths as canon, just different "universe" ... But since I hate Conquest story too much, I'm going for Revelation, why? Because I love the cheesy ending of both families happy and alive

[Frenzify]

I'd kind of prefer Revelation to be canon, despite its mind-numbingly boring story and gameplay.

I personally just can't get behind the logic of Birthright. I understand it, to an extent, but I don't think Corrin was given enough time with Hoshido to develop that deep of a connection. Of course, Mikoto dying helped, but even then... And I understand that it was then that they realised Garon was an ass, but still... even then... Would Corrin be so ready to turn his/her back on the siblings s/he grew up with and fight against them. I just really don't find that convincing.

As for Conquest, the fact that Corrin blindly followed Garon's orders until s/he had to literally see him as a comically evil goo monster was just so bad. So bad. I hated how they acted as if there must have been a reasonable explanation for everything until that moment, and s/he had to have it shoved in their damn face that Garon was just a dick. Unfortunately, I found the route with the stupid plot up to late game to be the one with characters I liked more. And I loved the late game chapters of Conquest to the point where they were my favourite parts of any of the routes, but the idea of going through that BS story just puts me off it.

In any case, all of that means nothing to me when it comes to canon, because Revelation is so clearly pushed as the right path, despite its glaring flaws, that I feel almost obligated to pick it, as it's the most logical choice. It may not be the most fun choice, but it's the most logical.

[DragonFlames]

On 23.2.2017 at 5:35 PM, Frenzify said:

I'd kind of prefer Revelation to be canon, despite its mind-numbingly boring story and gameplay.

I personally just can't get behind the logic of Birthright. I understand it, to an extent, but I don't think Corrin was given enough time with Hoshido to develop that deep of a connection. Of course, Mikoto dying helped, but even then... And I understand that it was then that they realised Garon was an ass, but still... even then... Would Corrin be so ready to turn his/her back on the siblings s/he grew up with and fight against them. I just really don't find that convincing.

What we always forget is the fact that after Corrin goes Megidramon transforms into a dragon and calms down, they remember their past and it is implied that it isn't just the moment they were kidnapped, but the entire time before that, as well (see Corrin's dialogue with Sumeragi in Revelation for evidence). Although you could also argue that it was Mikoto's death that triggered their memories. At least that's how I see it.

[Murrdogg93]

All very interesting. So far, I've seen Birthright completely, and Conquest mostly.

Birthright seems like an ending where the Light triumphs over the Dark.

Where Conquest, from what I've seen, feels like good intentions causing a lot of loss.

[Extrasolar]

For me it's Revelation, though it's definitely not my favorite path. I think the complete story was meant to be both kingdoms setting aside their differences, learning to get along and get past any prejudices they hold about the other, and uniting to take on a common foe. Corrin, meanwhile, having never really experienced either world, serves as the bridge for both of them, considering both royal sibling families are united around their love of Corrin in the first place.

In theory at least, I think that Revelation has the most satisfying conclusion...though the path itself had its issues in both the writing and gameplay department, especially with unit balance. Not to mention, none of the royals die in Revelation, so it's the best outcome.

Though as far as being the best written, I'd definitely give it to Birthright.

Edited February 28, 2017 by Extrasolar

[Altrosa]

On 2/23/2017 at 11:35 AM, Frenzify said:

I personally just can't get behind the logic of Birthright. I understand it, to an extent, but I don't think Corrin was given enough time with Hoshido to develop that deep of a connection. Of course, Mikoto dying helped, but even then... And I understand that it was then that they realised Garon was an ass, but still... even then... Would Corrin be so ready to turn his/her back on the siblings s/he grew up with and fight against them. I just really don't find that convincing.

As someone who initially chose BR over CQ based on the info dumped in the opening chapters, I can at least explain my logic. There is a lot to unpack here, but here goes.

For one, Garon's monstrous personality. He's more than just an ass, my friend. He forced me to fight prisoners to the death then told my elder brother to assault me for not wanting to execute them. Elder brother did so, begrudgingly, but did physically assault me right then and there for standing my moral ground.

Second, Hinoka's tears of joy over getting me back. It was her first reaction to having her long lost sister safely returned, so inspite of Ryoma's cool reception, it felt genuinely loving. Also, she never made a fuss that she spent her ENTIRE LIFE trying to rescue me, but I just sorta dropped in without her doing anything. It wasn't a pride thing, she was just happy I was finally safe.

Third, the Hoshidans gave me space to think and breathe verses smothering me. There was a whole swath of abuse that came to light that Corrin was completely blind to due to circumstances. The intense isolation and conditioning to think it was fine to live that way, along with learning that I was a little pawn for Garon to hold over Hoshido's terrified royal family. (I mean, did they know how Corrin was treated during the imprisonment at the fortress?)

Fourth, Azura, despite being a Nohrian princess, wanted nothing to do with Nohr. Also, despite being a Nohrian princess, Corrin didn't know she existed, because Garon and elder Nohr siblings apparently didn't care or were kept in the dark, unlike the Hoshidans, who full on adopted her and gave her a happy childhood while still working to one day save me.

Then, as we know, Mikoto dies protecting Corrin, and Corrin remembers everything. The whole ordeal got a really nasty reaction from me IRL.

So, here I am looking at my old family of "siblings," all working under the thumbs of a man who at this point is basically the devil, wondering how much they knew about my situation, how they could follow his orders, and how they could so casually murder Hoshidans.

And then my new, old family that has shown nothing but kindness and patience for me learning the truth, have treated Azura as a member of the family to save her from abuse, and despite not having spent time with them, do care about me and are opening their arms up to loving home.

Yeah, I told Xander to put his sword down.

[joshcja]

Conquest, it's the only route in which nothing of value is lost.

[Serviceplot]

When I was picking which fates game I was gonna buy I did it by something that gamers are SHUNED for doing. I looked at the covers. I saw the variation in colors and characters from birthright then compared it to the black edgy cover of conquest...so I got birthright. When I saw how much of a dick that Garon was I felt so vendicated and when it came time to pick sides I looked back at nohr I saw a boring dark older bro, and two sisters that could be described by hentai category names. The only one I felt bad about leaving was Leo who seemed like was gonna go somewhere and actually have an arc I cared about (yes I know the two otoku bats sisters will have something, I just don't wanna bother if thats what your trying to pull me in with, which is T&A) but other than him I felt no remorse when clicking birthright...until it's said "hey, this is basically story mode for babies u'll get more gold and exp so DONT WORRY ABOUT CHALLENGE FOR HOSHIDO AM I RIGHT!" and the few of my fiends that did pick nohr used the exuse "well nohr is harder anyway soooo" which pissed me off to no end...WHY MAKE DIFFERENTIATION BETWEEN THE TWO!? I got crucified for picking the one that looked better and had a better story. Still like birthright more though. 

[kcirrot]

I picked Revelations.  It's story isn't bad so much as perfunctory.  The plot, such as it is, only serves to justify bringing everyone together.  It clearly assumes you've played the other two paths first (and the game tells you to do so if you can't figure it out), so the lack of any character development outside of supports is OK.

But the deciding factor for me is that only in Revelations does: Azura, Xander, the Awakening trio, and especially Corrin all seem plausible.

In Birthright, I can understand Corrin's motivations and maybe Azura's because she never has occasion to learn that Corrin is also a Vallite.  But Xander is just plain idiotic in that route and the Awakening trio just ignores what they came there to do.  Even if the didn't know which legendary weapon prince was the one, the whole dragon thing should have tipped them off.

In Conquest, I just can't accept anyone's reasoning to do what they do.  The Nohrian royals all clearly know Garon is a lunatic.  Xander could have deposed him and if he honestly cared about Nohr would have for the good of all.  Conquering Hoshido was just unnecessary.  

Also, Azura had Corrin in Valla and could have spilled the whole story, but just decided not to. Lastly, Corrin would have to be a delusional idiot to go back to Nohr, as Garon helpfully points out as soon as you do.  On that point, Garon had no reason to keep Corrin alive and seeing that he/she wielded the Yato would likely have killed him/her immediately.

So, for all its faults, Revelations makes the most sense to me because its thin plot doesn't allow for the nonsense of the other two.

[noook]

They're all pretty awful.

Conquest's story has the most plausibility to exist (there's no scenario in which anyone in Corrin's situation would pick the Hoshido family over the Nohr family) but the story itself is garbage and only serves to shepherd you into whatever cool fun map IntSys wanted you to play.

Birthright's plot is for the most part well-connected aside from that contrived trip to the Rainbow Sage but it's just not a story that I enjoy on principle (hypocritical Japanese/Eastern country fights back against the evil Westerners in which no one can do any wrong, ever). Especially considering Ryoma is every bit the asshole Xander is. Seriously, why the hell does he decide to run off to Cheve immediately after his mom the Queen dies when he's next in line to take the throne?

Revelation is marketed as the golden ending even though two of the best characters in the game (Izana, Scarlet) die without any input from the player for no reason other than to add some semblance of drama. The ending is also garbage, and Anankos's existence in the plot absolves Hoshido and Nohr of any guilt they might have had in their conflict since it was all orchestrated by some angry dragon far removed from everything else in the world.

So basically none of it should be canon.