What is your unpopular Fire Emblem opinion?

[Topaz Light]

I am back, and toilsome.

• There really aren't any Fire Emblem characters at all that I can even honestly say that I especially dislike or find annoying... this actually goes for most works of fiction, honestly. I kinda tend to bottom out at just feeling indifferent towards a given character.
• I absolutely do not understand when people say Jagens are "basically necessary" in the early-game of any given Fire Emblem game. Maybe they're implicitly referring to a playstyle that just isn't how I play the game, but I consistently, instantly bench Jagens and have never once found it overly-difficult to complete a given chapter within a reasonable amount of turns while recruiting all characters and obtaining all treasures. Perhaps challenging, yes, but still very doable, even with the game's Jagen not even deployed.
• While the cosmetic aspects of character customization have improved with Fire Emblems Awakening and Fates, I feel like New Mystery's letting you choose your MU's base class and deciding stat and growth personalization by picking various character traits was much more fun and interesting than what Awakening or even Fates did. I hold that at the very least, choosing or customizing your base class in some way should come back, if MUs are to return as a mechanic.
• Ephraim was just okay.
• Marth is a good Lord and is equal to or in some cases better than a lot of his ample selection of spiritual successors.
• Lyn isn't incredible, but she isn't that bad of a unit, either. She's literally just a fairly typical Myrmidon with special animations who needs to promote with a Heaven Seal in exchange for getting Bows out of it. Giving her the Angelic Robe in her story helps her out a lot just by itself, but I understand that there is competition for that item.
• While I do care about not playing terribly, I'm absolutely not a power player, either. I'll gladly pass up the opportunity to make an "optimal" setup in favor of something fun and weird, instead.
• FE1 Ballisticians were thematically a really cool and unique class within the series, and I'd like to see that specific take on them return in a future installment... if perhaps buffed a bit to make them more worth using, hehe~
• I honestly don't even inherently dislike Tharja as a character, I just think that her terrible behaviors should be called out more by other characters and by how the writing in general treats her, as opposed to them being largely played for humor. In supports where she shows more of a kind side, I can actually end up rather liking her, and I enjoy her snark. Actually, it's mainly just the whole "Robin obsession" and "being abusive" things I dislike about her.
• I have no idea if this is actually unpopular, but I think it's a lot cooler for the Lord to get a less exceptional starting Prf weapon, a la the Rapier, of which there may even be more than one available in the game, as opposed to having them start with a "sealed" version of their ultimate weapon, since I feel that kinda undermines the impact of said ultimate weapon's presence in the story.
• This is a nice segue into the fact that I prefer for legendary/S-rank weapons to be worked into the story, world, and/or lore in some way if they are to be present in the game. It doesn't have to be anything super major; what was done with Archanea's Three Regalia was absolutely sufficient. It just seems so lackluster when they're just kinda... there.
• I feel like most of Awakening's and Fates' characters were perfectly-serviceable premises for characters, and that the biggest underlying problem for a lot of them is that they don't really get the growth or, more broadly-speaking, the specific uses of screentime that they'd need to really become good characters.
• In exchange for being the worst Cavalier in the series gameplay-wise, Fiona is the best Cavalier in the series design-wise.
• Letting Knights use both Swords and Lances was actually a really neat idea and I'm a little disappointed that's never come back.
• On the other hand, while I do think it was equally-cool, I can understand why Sword- and Lance-using Pegasus Knights have been abandoned, because it'd allow them to basically act as flying Myrmidons and snap the often-axe-heavy early-game in half with the addition of the weapon triangle.
• I actually prefer when a character's class has some kind of connection to their character. It's a little strange to have games where, say, none of the recruitable Mercenaries are actually mercenaries.
• I like Deen's Echoes redesign and don't find him to look overly-edgy at all, although I still find jokes about his edginess to be funny.
• I don't especially mind Gaiden/Echoes' terrain bonuses being absolutely absurd and I find it preferable to making the bonuses relatively small. I still consider the three GBAFE games to have hit the ideal sweetspot for terrain bonuses, though.
• Takumi is neither that amazing nor that annoying of a character, although he is probably one of my favorite royal siblings in the game.
• On that note, I'm actually less bothered by the royal siblings getting their own unique legendary weapons right from the start than I am by it being only the royal brothers who get them.
• I feel like having some sort of weight system is preferable to not having one at all, but I fully admit that it's something that's a little hard to make work well. I think that, as of this writing, Echoes has thus far done it best, with the speed penalty from weight being irreducible and big enough to make an impact, but generally not so large as to be too crippling.
• On the flipside, Fates applying gimmicky penalties to a lot of weapons was way more irritating than fun and ended up making a number of weapons more trouble than they're worth to use.
• The Trinity of Magic, in my experience, does not actually add all that much that's interesting to most of the games it's in, and in hindsight I'm not especially sad about its absence from the series following Radiant Dawn. I don't hate it, but I don't think it's a must-have feature, either, and it's kinda stopped being on my wishlist for future titles. I do think that splitting Anima, Light, and Dark Magic into separate weapon proficiencies makes the most sense from a worldbuilding standpoint out of all the setups for that they've had, however.
• I actually really love the various archetypes throughout the series and I enjoy seeing them pop up in various games, but I do think that keeping them too similar to the source characters isn't a good idea and is a recipe for blandness and repetition. Instead, I'd like to see them utilize their classic archetypes, and keep each character recognizably whatever archetype they are, but do more to play around with them and give them their own identity beyond just the archetype they pay homage to.

 

On 6/27/2017 at 4:04 AM, Topaz Light said:

Forsyth is likely to be a better unit than Lukas in the long run without Starshards/Jacinths or Pitchforks, because Lukas' offensive capabilities fall off a cliff due to his abysmal speed just not cutting it for mid/late-game, while Forsyth is able to keep up at least decently while having stronger Attack and still pretty hardy Defense.

...I say, as Forsyth proceeds to turn out decidedly-unimpressive in my current playthrough.

Edited July 2, 2017 by Topaz Light

[Lau]

9 minutes ago, Topaz Light said:

Marth is a good Lord and is equal to or in some cases better than a lot of his ample selection of spiritual successors

I'm going to kneel down, and I'm going to shine your shoes, because I agree 1000000%

- Marth's Fates amiibo design is heavily underrated. He looks so good in Kozaki's style c'mon.

- I'm indifferent to Clive, Clair and Mathilda. They're weak units, and Clair's snobbiness gets to me sometimes, even if she doesn't mean to.

- I wish we knew more about Marth's mother, Liza.

- I stubbornly believe that Roy's real name is Elroy.

[Lerandel]

I'm a bit new to the series and unfamiliar with most games, but I have a few unpopular opinions:

• Marth isn't a bad character, and may be one of the better lords in the series.
• The first game has some features I'd love to see return, like ballisticians or commandos.
• Softly With Grace (Blazing Blade) is the weakest boss theme in its respective game.
• Gharnef is not a bland villain. He just may be one of the more successful villains in the series, due to how many atrocities he committed.

[Lau]

Xander, Laslow and Peri are my favourite Lord and Retainer Trio.

Kaze should've been the gay option instead of Niles, and Azura instead of Rhajat.

Caeldori is actually quite a nice name.

Saizo should've interacted with Kaze more.

Hinoka and Sakura are the best out of the Hoshido siblings.

Ryoma and Takumi's Fates aren't that sad.

The Awakening kids besides Lucina should've been compulsory to get, as in, tied to the story.

Priam should've been descended from either Sigurd or Seliph, as the Jugdral games are hinted to be tied to the Archanean games.

I wish more was done with Raven and Priscilla, being part of the Cornwell family and all. Same with Brendan, Lloyd and Linus, being the Reed family.

...I kinda wish that we could've seen Ninian and Nils performing together.

Kliff and Faye should be related, they look quite similar.

Heroes should've referenced Marth x Caeda during the Bride Banner, considering Marth was looking forward to seeing her in a wedding dress.

Ninian should've been part of that banner, too.

Reyson is probably the most attractive male character in the series.

Leanne is probably the most attractive female, too.

I wish we could've learnt more about the Herons.

Shadows of Valentia could've included a very brief Marth cameo at the end of the post-game, where he could be greeting Alm and Celica. But then again, this would've made more sense if the game took place after Mystery of the Emblem, where Marth becomes the ruler of Archanea. This is clearly my Marth bias showing, apologies.

We need more characters with the "Incurable Cough of Death". Maybe a sickly lord? FE6 Eliwood doesn't count.

[familyplayer]

8 hours ago, Whateverx said:

Valla, Anankos does not ruins Fates' story.

Tbh, it's Azura and how much she knows but decides to not even try to tell that ruins the story.

 

[StrykerZ]

Shadows of Valentina was boring, tedious and way to easy.

 

Seth is not actually that good.

Edited June 29, 2017 by StrykerZ

[George Reds]

Let's see...

-I would like more female axe users (we barely have girls who use axes, but most of the time they start with an e rank, except Echidna and Titania.)

-Noah is better than Allan or Lance.

-Anna should be an axe unit in Warriors (since we have lots of memorable sword users)

-Rutger should be in Warriors

-(don't know if this is unpopular) I liked the aesthetics of SoV dungeons, they show the crumbling state of the continent and they're kind of creepy.

-The magic weapons should return (All 5 types, fire, wind, thunder, light, dark, and with all 4 physical weapons, sword, lance, axe, bow) EDIT: Add in the daggers so thieves have a weapon that makes sense.

-Falcon Knights should return to using swords

-I don't think Priscilla will win against elise, but she has an opportunity against lissa. EDIT: I KNEW IT! Although we were too close to winning w/ Priscilla.

Edited July 3, 2017 by George Reds

[Von Ithipathachai]

2 hours ago, George Reds said:

Let's see...

-I would like more female axe users (we barely have girls who use axes, but most of the time they start with an e rank, except Echidna and Titania.)

-Noah is better than Allan or Lance.

...

-Rutger should be in Warriors

...

-Falcon Knights should return to using swords

There are a decent number of female Axe users, but they're usually mounted.  I think what you're looking for are more female Fighters/Brigands, and I definitely agree with you there.

I'll have to think about using Noah and Trec instead when I play Binding Blade.

Rutger probably won't make it in because of Navarre and Lon'qu.

The problem with Falcon Knights wielding Swords is that Paladins are already a mounted class with the exact same weapon selection.

[Res]

On 6/27/2017 at 7:48 AM, 7441074410 said:

Takumi could be replaced by some random edgy OC and pretty much nothing would change story-wise.

"Grr, I hate *insert protagonist/kingdom* I hope you riot in hell" 

How original, there's nothing relatable, tragic, or interesting about this pathetic, whiny crybaby. NO amounts of issues excuses him for his shitty attitude.

This guy is a complete waste of time. Also he is a lame rip off of Shinon. Fuck Takumi.

 

22 hours ago, Whateverx said:

• Takumi is overrated.
• I don't get the hype of Hector, Reinhardt or Robin.
• Horse Emblem, Close Counter/Distant Counter are lame gimmicks.
• Slime!Garon is not a bad idea.
• Corrin is the only likable character in Fates.
• Twilight of the Gods is a overhyped song.
• Valla, Anankos does not ruins Fates' story.
• I'm okay with fanservices.

 

1 hour ago, 741274410 said:

Characters that dislike the main character/avatar are not automatically well written or great. 

If they bring nothing else aside of some lame angst or rage 24/7 (looking at you Takumi. <_<) then they're boring and uninteresting.

Why are all three of you newly registered users with posts only in this thread, and all against Takumi? Are you one bored person? 

 

[Integrity]

22 minutes ago, Res said:

 Are you one bored person?

yes he is all three of the people you quoted are banned

 

EDIT: i'm gonna start ghosting his posts just out of disrespect

Edited June 29, 2017 by Integrity

[Slumber]

To be fair

• Takumi sucks

[Integrity]

are you an alt of his too? just be up front with me, man, i can handle the truth

[saisymbolic]

Here is my unpopular opinion for today:

• I think Makalov is a decently written character.

I'm not saying he's groundbreaking, but I do believe how he is presented and utilized in PoR was pretty good. He was also consistent in characterization, which is notable, in my opinion.

Makalov is not a good guy, but I do believe he is a realistic one. He's a gambler and a drunk, neither of which are played as charming traits - particularly the gambling. If anything, they are presented as annoying habits - because they realistically are. Brigands hound him down for money from his numerous loses, but he never faces the consequences - he will either flee or push the burden on another to deal with. Usually Marcia. This addiction being used as a means to set up Marcia's introduction was surprising - pleasantly so when I discovered that he actually existed and wasn't just some loose end to get her indebted to Ike for later recruitment. He uses others for his own gain - such as Astrid and his own sister - feeling guilty only when prompted by another. Even then, he shows little to no true remorse, going back repeatedly to play on sympathy or love in order to get what he wants. Beneath that, however, he has a tiny bit of humanity and love for his sister. But, like humans tend to be, he is overall weak-willed and selfish, unwilling (or unable) to change himself for the better.

Like, I know he isn't great and is really unlikable. But, I like him because of his unlikable-ness, if that makes any sense.

Edited July 1, 2017 by saisymbolic

[Res]

46 minutes ago, Integrity said:

yes he is all three of the people you quoted are banned

 

EDIT: i'm gonna start ghosting his posts just out of disrespect

Oh, thank you! 

As to my contribution to this thread: I think most of the female characters in FE are poorly written, at least in comparison to the male characters (of whom there are several very nuanced, very well written examples). 

[Slumber]

1 hour ago, Integrity said:

are you an alt of his too? just be up front with me, man, i can handle the truth

Shhhhh...

 

26 minutes ago, Res said:

Oh, thank you! 

As to my contribution to this thread: I think most of the female characters in FE are poorly written, at least in comparison to the male characters (of whom there are several very nuanced, very well written examples). 

I agree with this, especially in regards to lords. I didn't even think about it recently until I had to explain to somebody why I didn't like Eirika, but in a good handful of the games(At least Sacred Stones, Radiant Dawn and Gaiden/Shadows of Valentia), the female lords are the ones who fuck up, and their male counterparts have to come in and fix things. I'd still say Eirika's the worst case, since Micaiah and Celica do have somewhat understandable/sympathetic reasons behind their flaws, while Eirika literally takes suggestions from Satan, but it's made worse by Ephraim, Ike and Alm essentially being flawless heroes.

Edited June 29, 2017 by Slumber

[SageHarpuiaJDJ]

-I'm prolly one of few people who feel this way, but I actually like Corrin as a lord and don't think his actions were as bad as people think they are. Corrin lived a sheltered life where everyone gave him the thumbs up, so it really isn't his fault that he doesn't know that what he's doing isn't the moral way of going about it. Sure, he's not great, but he's not awful either.

-SoV was okay, but Berkut was kinda meh as a villain.

-Speaking of which, I felt little no sympathy for him or Fernand when they died. Especially Fernand. In fact, I hate Fernand. The writing tries to make you feel sorry for him, but he's such a stuck up dick that I honestly felt nothing at all. I feel the writing went TOO far with his stuck up behavior, and he's honestly one of my most hated characters in FE.

-On a positive note, SoV's support system is... Okay. I like that there isn't a stupid limit to 5 convos like GBA, but the lack of supports in general and the fact that the supports are on the damn battlefield like GBA supports just leaves them at okay for me.

-Ninian is a terrible character. I'm sorry, but she's completely useless in the FE7's story besides from the ending, but revival from the dead is fucking stupid. I feel that her existence is only to be a cuddle buddy for Eliwood. Other than that she spends most of time injured or captured.

-Fates's class design, aside from the Fighter from both sides, are actually pretty cool.

-Children and the Avatar didn't 'ruin' the series, but actually made it more interesting and more fun. Although I would agree they should be used sparingly to keep them fresh.

-The series in general isn't ruined at that claim should honestly die. All the FE games I've enjoyed as games, and just cause they were easy or had a 'bad' story doesn't make it bad.

 

Stuff like story not being a mainstay, Canon pairing being terrible, and all lords being stu/sue characters I also agree with.

[Hero_Lucina]

On 6/28/2017 at 3:24 AM, Lautsuu said:

I wish we could've learnt more about the Herons.

Shadows of Valentia could've included a very brief Marth cameo at the end of the post-game, where he could be greeting Alm and Celica. But then again, this would've made more sense if the game took place after Mystery of the Emblem, where Marth becomes the ruler of Archanea. This is clearly my Marth bias showing, apologies.

I agree with this. 

[ping]

On 29.6.2017 at 9:25 PM, Slumber said:

I agree with this, especially in regards to lords. I didn't even think about it recently until I had to explain to somebody why I didn't like Eirika, but in a good handful of the games(At least Sacred Stones, Radiant Dawn and Gaiden/Shadows of Valentia), the female lords are the ones who fuck up, and their male counterparts have to come in and fix things. I'd still say Eirika's the worst case, since Micaiah and Celica do have somewhat understandable/sympathetic reasons behind their flaws, while Eirika literally takes suggestions from Satan, but it's made worse by Ephraim, Ike and Alm essentially being flawless heroes.

Speaking of which...

I don't really mind the scene with Eirika handing over the stone that much on its own. I even appreciate that they made both twins get screwed over by their main flaws in their version of that chapter - Ephraim by recklessly charging after Lyon, and Eirika being way to trusting. Still, I think both twins lack some kind of "click" moment where they recognize their flaws as such. Ephraim does have one scene after defeating Orson where he vows to become more responsible, but he doesn't really seem to change all that much after that. It's still more than Eirika has though - iirc, she doesn't even have that moment of self-reflection.

[fangpoint333]

FE8 is the most forgettable game in the series.

As much as I like the games, FE4 and FE5 had massively gameplay issues that cut down on my enjoyment.

I actually like how the magic triangles keep changing between FE games.

I kinda hate Fates as a whole.

Hand Axes and Javelins should remain the way Fates had it or get nerfed harder. The silliest thing about this franchise is the idea of having one person take on an army by throwing a single javelin 20 times. It would be even sillier to suggest that they had 20 javelins that they only threw once. 

Horses are too ridiculously overpowered as a series whole.

Dismounting needs to come back.

Weapon durability was a fine concept. Not having it around every now and then is fine but I would miss it if it stayed gone forever.

They need to pick one concept for weapon weight and just freaking stick with it.

Every game in the series needs work to make it better.

[Vivowold]

I think the game tries WAAY too hard to feel sorry or sympathize the Royals siblings.

I feel next to nothing when they died (in either Birthright or Conquest) because the whole scene was contrived rather than sad.

[fangpoint333]

2 minutes ago, Vivowold said:

I think the game tries WAAY too hard to feel sorry or sympathize the Royals siblings.

I feel next to nothing when they died (in either Birthright or Conquest) because the whole scene was contrived rather than sad.

It doesn't help that if one dies you have a similar counterpart Royal sibling on the side you joined.

[Hero_Lucina]

1 minute ago, fangpoint333 said:

It doesn't help that if one dies you have a similar counterpart Royal sibling on the side you joined.

That's why I felt more in Echoes (as in I actually cried)

[TheGreatNothing]

On 6/28/2017 at 5:24 AM, Lautsuu said:

 

We need more characters with the "Incurable Cough of Death". Maybe a sickly lord? FE6 Eliwood doesn't count.

I was JUST thinking of that!

[Lau]

Alm is probably one of the best Lords in the series, being extremely down to earth, and feeling very human, alongside Marth and Roy.

Berkut was a fantastic villain and him and Rinea deserve more appreciation.

Clive...isn't as good and righteous as many people make him out to be.

I think a game featuring the Laguz would work very well. We could see the full Heron tribe, how they came to be loved by the Ravens and Hawks, then lead up to the Serenes Massacre, then a bit about Reyson's time with Tibarn and Rafiel's time with Nailah. We could also learn more about Ranulf, why is he such a respected figure?

Archanean remakes in the style of Echoes would be fantastic, but the fans wouldn't be happy because they don't know a good thing when they see it we've already had them remade. I do, however, agree that Genealogy, Thracia and Binding Blade deserve remakes first, though.

Robin is a bucketload of untapped potential. What if he had kept his memories? Would he have been as close to Chrom as he is? Why is he so goddamn smart?

I feel like a game featuring Anri or Chrom's father would be fantastic.

TMS #FE deserves a Switch port.

FE Cipher should be released in the west.

A crossover with LoZ would be amazing.

The Future Past should've been its own game.

I'm not sure if I've said this, but I believe that Roy's real name is Elroy. C'mon, we have Elbert and Eliwood, so why not Elroy?

[Integrity]

17 hours ago, Vivowold said:

I think the game tries WAAY too hard to feel sorry or sympathize the Royals siblings.

I feel next to nothing when they died (in either Birthright or Conquest) because the whole scene was contrived rather than sad.

man dude you really need to make sure this opinion gets out there don't you smh