What is your unpopular Fire Emblem opinion?

[Fire Brand]

39 minutes ago, Dark Holy Elf said:

Y'know I think I agree with this overall. Rewind has encouraged me to be a lazier FE player and I'll probably find the game less long-term satisfying from a gameplay perspective than some of the others as a result. I think I'm going to have to start forcing myself not to use it, but as you mentioned there are some things you really need to learn about the game first. I really like Three Houses so it'll be interesting to see how it holds up in no-rewind land.

Ironically the FE game which would benefit from rewind the most to my mind is FEH, since there's no RNG to abuse and of course it has a touchscreen interface where misclicks (the main thing I would really like rewind for) are more common. But it's also the only FE from the last three years not to have it.

Agreed on the comments about Conquest being beautifully designed and giving you the needed information to succeed on a classic no-rewind difficulty.

As a die-hard ironman player, I really dislike the idea and inclusion of rewind. Casual mode already exists for easing people into the series, and in my opinion classic mode should be reserved for those who want the challenge of permadeath. It makes everything feel cheap and meaningless, and encourages reckless play. I'm totally fine with Casual Mode, but rewind really irritates me. And it's much harder to ignore, too.

Anyway, some opinions of my own:
 

•  Three houses is the weakest Fire Emblem entry thus far. The gameplay is repetitive, and the map design is the worst in the series, mostly due to map overuse and the lack of objective variation. The story is also incredibly weak, as while part 1 offers a passable setup, part 2 just throws it all out of a 100th floor window, and I'd honestly consider it the worst JRPG story I've ever encountered. I also found the characters to be very unlikeable, and extremely one note. Character backstory was insufficient in patching this up too, I found. The monastery padding I found extremely obnoxious, and felt like meaningless filler outside of the first couple of visits. The choosing your own path gimmick I also did not enjoy, as map reuse and monastery padding made playing the game an absolute chore and made each playthrough seem the exact same. Honestly, the only thing I liked about it was the music, which even then got old once you realised there were only 7-8 tracks which were reused across all paths. Even the graphics didn't look great when compared to other Switch games, as the game had the overall look of an early Wii U game.
•  I enjoy desert maps. They are a nice change of pace, allowing mages to become your most mobile units rather than the usual cavalry-dominated gameplay of other maps, and provide a unique challenge in reaching the hidden item locations. Also, lots have good map themes.
•  Support conversations are possibly my least favorite aspect of Fire Emblem. They always seemed quite jarring to me when compared to the main story, and character quirks tend to annoy rather than entertain. While some do offer character backstory, I'd rather learn about this in Base Conversations, Talk Conversations (like in FE4), or even developer interviews and articles. I'd quite like for future Fire Emblem games to replace support conversations with base and talk conversations instead.

[Strullemia]

1 hour ago, Fire Brand said:

As a die-hard ironman player, I really dislike the idea and inclusion of rewind. Casual mode already exists for easing people into the series, and in my opinion classic mode should be reserved for those who want the challenge of permadeath. It makes everything feel cheap and meaningless, and encourages reckless play. I'm totally fine with Casual Mode, but rewind really irritates me. And it's much harder to ignore, too.

Anyway, some opinions of my own:
 

•  Three houses is the weakest Fire Emblem entry thus far. The gameplay is repetitive, and the map design is the worst in the series, mostly due to map overuse and the lack of objective variation. The story is also incredibly weak, as while part 1 offers a passable setup, part 2 just throws it all out of a 100th floor window, and I'd honestly consider it the worst JRPG story I've ever encountered. I also found the characters to be very unlikeable, and extremely one note. Character backstory was insufficient in patching this up too, I found. The monastery padding I found extremely obnoxious, and felt like meaningless filler outside of the first couple of visits. The choosing your own path gimmick I also did not enjoy, as map reuse and monastery padding made playing the game an absolute chore and made each playthrough seem the exact same. Honestly, the only thing I liked about it was the music, which even then got old once you realised there were only 7-8 tracks which were reused across all paths. Even the graphics didn't look great when compared to other Switch games, as the game had the overall look of an early Wii U game.
•  I enjoy desert maps. They are a nice change of pace, allowing mages to become your most mobile units rather than the usual cavalry-dominated gameplay of other maps, and provide a unique challenge in reaching the hidden item locations. Also, lots have good map themes.
•  Support conversations are possibly my least favorite aspect of Fire Emblem. They always seemed quite jarring to me when compared to the main story, and character quirks tend to annoy rather than entertain. While some do offer character backstory, I'd rather learn about this in Base Conversations, Talk Conversations (like in FE4), or even developer interviews and articles. I'd quite like for future Fire Emblem games to replace support conversations with base and talk conversations instead.

I know, opinion and all but really? I know the map design isn't great but even worse than Echoes, Awakening, Revelations and Birthright?

[Alastor15243]

8 minutes ago, Hekselka said:

I know, opinion and all but really? I know the map design isn't great but even worse than Echoes, Awakening, Revelations and Birthright?

I can't say definitively overall, but I can say confidently that Three Houses has the worst singular map in the series, that being Foreign Land and Sky.

[Fire Brand]

56 minutes ago, Hekselka said:

I know, opinion and all but really? I know the map design isn't great but even worse than Echoes, Awakening, Revelations and Birthright?

At least Awakening, Revelations and Birthright didn't make me sit through playing the same already terrible maps over and over.

Echoes is far more interesting to optimise, and funnily enough also had more varied maps, and dungeons were all different and a nice change of pace.

Three Houses, aside from the constant repetition, also has the honour of having some of the worst maps (Petra's paralogue, BE chapter 17 and endgame, to name a few). I'd rather deal with Revelations gimmicks. 

[Etrurian emperor]

Going with Marianne's popularity I'd say me not liking her is an unpopular opinion. I already wasn't feeling her before release and playing through the game did nothing to endear her to me. Those grey marks under her eyes are a big turn off for me. She's definitely competently written and sympathetic but personally I've never been drawn to characters who repeatedly say they are useless and have no value. 

4 hours ago, Dark Holy Elf said:

I don't know about "worst JRPG story ever" but I do agree that Echoes' story is really bad (it actively sabotages its themes and makes negative use of its setting) and extremely misogynist.

Oh yes. That one is undeniable even for those that like Echoes. I believe that out of the entire female cast only three don't have to be rescued. That's kinda problematic even for a NES game. Fire Emblem generally has handled this trope pretty well by ensuring male and females alike often needing to be saved but with Echoes its all females. Well...and Jessie I guess. Echoes even made it a little worse instead of better by constantly having Conrad rescue Celica. 

Though to be fair Binding Blade is equally bad at it. Just about every female you recruit in that game gets kidnapped too, even Niime in one route. 

 

Edited August 26, 2019 by Etrurian emperor

[Ottservia]

1 hour ago, Etrurian emperor said:

Going with Marianne's popularity I'd say me not liking her is an unpopular opinion. I already wasn't feeling her before release and playing through the game did nothing to endear her to me. Those grey marks under her eyes are a big turn off for me. She's definitely competently written and sympathetic but personally I've never been drawn to characters who repeatedly say they are useless and have no value. 

Strange cause I’m the exact opposite. I absolutely love characters like that cause like I can relate them the most. Constantly being told you’re not good enough, thinking you’re nothing but a burden to those around you, that feeling of disappointing everyone around you, feeling like no one really cares, etc. It’s an awful feeling and a feeling I know all too well, unfortunately. it’s nice to see characters like that in fiction cause it reminds me that I’m not alone. 

Edited August 26, 2019 by Ottservia

[Etrurian emperor]

1 hour ago, Ottservia said:

Strange cause I’m the exact opposite. I absolutely love characters like that cause like I can relate them the most. Constantly being told you’re not good enough, thinking you’re nothing but a burden to those around you, that feeling of disappointing everyone around you, feeling like no one really cares, etc. It’s an awful feeling and a feeling I know all too well, unfortunately. it’s nice to see characters like that in fiction cause it reminds me that I’m not alone. 

I'm not really turned off by characters having those feelings. Despite the arrogance Takumi thinks he's quite worthless and him overcompensating on that front is where the arrogance comes from. Chad is implied to have some issues regarding his self worth too. 

I'm fine with characters believing this and this impacting their personality in interesting ways but if they just repeatedly insist they are worthless I'm generally not very interested. But that's mostly a taste thing rather than something being wrong with that archetype. 

[NinjaMonkey]

3 hours ago, Fire Brand said:

At least Awakening, Revelations and Birthright didn't make me sit through playing the same already terrible maps over and over.

Re-using assets is Koei Tecmo's MO. They do it a lot in their Dynasty Warriors games.

2 hours ago, Etrurian emperor said:

That's kinda problematic even for a NES game.

As someone who has rescued Princess Peach countless times throughout his life, it really isn't.

 

Edited August 26, 2019 by NinjaMonkey

[Hawkwing]

2 hours ago, Etrurian emperor said:

Oh yes. That one is undeniable even for those that like Echoes. I believe that out of the entire female cast only three don't have to be rescued. That's kinda problematic even for a NES game. Fire Emblem generally has handled this trope pretty well by ensuring male and females alike often needing to be saved but with Echoes its all females. Well...and Jessie I guess. Echoes even made it a little worse instead of better by constantly having Conrad rescue Celica. 

Technically everyone is held hostage some point, depending on how one counts the assault of necrodragons at the Dragons Maw, as well as Act 5 for Celica's army, but yeah, it is a pretty noticeable problem with the games story. I believe part of the reason it's not criticized more is simply because said females are useful in gameplay, which makes up for it to some people (that, and Est is kidnapped in every game she's in, so Gaiden/Echoes is just continuing a trend, for better and worse).

 

Despite not beating the game to completion yet (blame buying 6 games for $20 a month ago), I feel that I can say these on Fates: Conquest:

• The story's infamous reputation precedes it, although it's not hard to see why that's the case. While not as terrible as people make it out to be, the Fates plot still isn't good and is the barest definition of "works" I can think of for a story.
• The whole "crystal ball" moment isn't the epitome of the games writing issues, and indeed several aspects of it do make sense. It is still incredibly contrived, though.
• The support quality (excluding S-supports. I haven't seen enough of them) is overall just okay. Not overly good, not extremely bad, just okay.
• I got a better idea of what a character was like from what they said in battle when compared to the private quarters, MyCastle, and heck, even supports.
• Camilla sounds like someone with an R-rated backstory, and should be in some significant therapy, not the fanservice character of the game. It makes the amount of alts she has a little awkward in hindsight.
• Corrin is more bearable if you don't treat them as an avatar and take the praise as general "good job, player!" moments.
• Peri's gimmick in and of itself isn't actually that bad, but my biggest problem with her is that her killing isn't entertaining. Have the shit she says actually be hilarious, and have it either show that she doesn't take things all that seriously, or it's a coping mechanism from how much death they see, or something that gives it more substance.
• The Beaststone and Beastrune dynamic was barebones yet interesting, and should be expanded in future games.
• Speaking of beasts, while I'll give props to kitsune for the flips, they're lame in comparison to Awakenings.
• Less "unpopular" and more "unknown", but Chapter 17 of Conquest is the best Sword of the Samurai in-joke I have ever seen.
• The Beastbane and Pass combo and Illusions are engaging gimmicks separately, but together they just make for an annoying level that can occasionally be frustrating.
• I'm not annoyed that Treehouse removed swimsuits. I'm annoyed that the only body costumes were swimsuits. Come on, where's my badass samurai armor and tuxedos?! Why won't they let me conquer the continent and reform a kingdom from within with style?!?
• Even if it can get excessive, clothing damage is pretty neat. It's another way of communicating to the player that a strong attack was dealt, and helps keep battle visually engaging. Tone down the fanservice aspects and make the damage more dynamic, and I wouldn't mind this coming back.
• The Rainbow Sage is the only character with whom I had no issue with their dialogue.

As for other games:

• Brawlers and grappler's have the worst class designs in Fire Emblem.
• Awakening has more distracting class designs than Fates (female mounted units not wearing pants, for instance), while the latter has more WTF elements (The butt/crotch armor and Camilla's whole design).
• Three Houses should have used blood more often outside of cutscenes.
• I want to see a steampunk Fire Emblem game, as well as one set in the wild west.
• If a Fire Emblem game was going to be set in a Feudal Japan styled world, it should use Echoes mechanics.
• Early guns could work in Fire Emblem. Have them be powerful yet inaccurate, and also rare yet still seen as the transition from medieval weaponry to firearms is just starting to take place.
• Don't know if this is an unpopular opinion or not, but (Three Houses Spoilers):

Spoiler

Considering TWSITD are so advanced, there should have been futuristic legendary weapons to go along with them. Something like this:

(Pictures from Shadow Warrior 2)

DLC can always address this, though.

 

[Flere210]

Princess Peach is one person in a basically plotless game. In echoes is *Dimitri voice* every last one of them. 

I want to cut some slack for a game made in the eighties, but the remake managed to make the things even worse. 

 

 

[NinjaMonkey]

20 minutes ago, Hawkwing said:

• If a Fire Emblem game was going to be set in a Feudal Japan styled world

Wasn't FE: Birthright set in the Feudal Japan-inspired country of Hoshido?

Edited August 27, 2019 by NinjaMonkey

[Hawkwing]

1 minute ago, NinjaMonkey said:

Wasn't FE: Birthright set in the feudal Japan country of Hoshido?

Yes, but I meant more if the entire game had such a setting, and not just one nation. I suppose I didn't make that clear in my original post.

[Icelerate]

5 hours ago, Etrurian emperor said:

Oh yes. That one is undeniable even for those that like Echoes. I believe that out of the entire female cast only three don't have to be rescued. That's kinda problematic even for a NES game. Fire Emblem generally has handled this trope pretty well by ensuring male and females alike often needing to be saved but with Echoes its all females. Well...and Jessie I guess. Echoes even made it a little worse instead of better by constantly having Conrad rescue Celica. 

 Though to be fair Binding Blade is equally bad at it. Just about every female you recruit in that game gets kidnapped too, even Niime in one route. 

 

So would you say these DeviantArt posters who like to make pictures of female FE characters being tied up and gagged are sexist considering they seem to exclusively glorify females getting captured? 

Edited August 27, 2019 by Icelerate

[Interdimensional Observer]

6 hours ago, Etrurian emperor said:

Though to be fair Binding Blade is equally bad at it. Just about every female you recruit in that game gets kidnapped too, even Niime in one route. 

I'm curious:

1. Ellen- Flees from Bern's forces on her own after being captured by them to ask someone to save Guinevere.
2. Shanna- A mercenary no issues.
3. Clarine- Captured by Narcian, freed by Rutger.
4. Dorothy- Protects Saul.
5. Sue- Is rescued by Roy.
6. Lilina- Is rescued big time by Roy.
7. Gwendolyn- Helps in a rescue.
8. Fir- Isn't captured per se. But is tricked into fighting alongside bandits who plan to steal her sword, and maybe enslave/rape/kill later. Sounds bad to me.
9. Tate- Fights for the wrong side, but does so as a mercenary. Isn't really captured.
10. Lalam- Is rescued by Roy.
11. Echidna- Fights freely as a rebel.
12. Cath- Goes around stealing things never caught.
13. Melady- Betrays Bern for her lady liege.
14. Cecilia- Puts up a good fight offscreen for a while, but Zephiel takes her out in a single blow and throws her in prison. 
15. Sophia- Shares a cell with Cecilia and saves her from death from the Zephiel wounds. Likewise saved by Roy.
16. Igrene- Defends Arcadia and is never caught.
17. Fae- Caught by Bern and saved by oni-chan Roy.
18. Niime- Thrown in jail on Ilia, on Sacae she hides in the city of Bulgar with Dayan the Man.
19. Juno- Thrown in jail in Castle Edessa.

If we count Ellen, Fir, and Ilia Niime, we're looking at 11 out of 19 girls, more than half.

[Acacia Sgt]

I'd say, it's hardly "just about every" if technicalities are used to even reach the half-way point.

Anyway, I think that for a few of them the fact they had to be rescued and/or got captured is like taking it a little over reaction. Like, it's just a slight on an otherwise great record, so why hold it hard against them for that one failure.

[Heir of Dragons and Beasts]

I hate Dimitri And forever will also lorenz has the best hair

[Relkahfoka]

Dimitri is so insane and horrifying, i see no reason to defend him. He isn't named the King of Delusion for nothing.

God Shattering Star is a overhyped song.

Death Knight is whatever, a bit boring but ok.

Felix isn't edgy.

I actually like Leonie and Hubert.

[Alastor15243]

2 hours ago, Relkahfoka said:

I actually like Leonie and Hubert.

People don't like Leonie? She was my favorite character on my BE run, the most down-to-earth and well-scripted. She felt like the only one of the cast I could see in a different Fire Emblem game.

Edited August 27, 2019 by Alastor15243

[Etrurian emperor]

7 hours ago, Icelerate said:

So would you say these DeviantArt posters who like to make pictures of female FE characters being tied up and gagged are sexist considering they seem to exclusively glorify females getting captured? 

Oh. Well I certainly wasn't expecting to delve into this subject when waking up.

I don't think its quite the same. A fan having a kink and expressing that in his own little corner of the internet doesn't really concern me. Everyone has their own fetish and I'm not one to judge people for that. All power to them. But if I have a feeling a creators kink might be affecting a story they are telling then that could be somewhat distracting. 

But I wouldn't call it sexist. Bondage is primarily a sexual fetish. If someone is into bondage and is entirely straight then its only natural that some tasty Oliver hentai wouldn't really do much for him. Since the amount of straight people massively outnumber the amount of gay and bi people I'd say its only natural.

6 hours ago, Acacia Sgt said:

I'd say, it's hardly "just about every" if technicalities are used to even reach the half-way point.

Anyway, I think that for a few of them the fact they had to be rescued and/or got captured is like taking it a little over reaction. Like, it's just a slight on an otherwise great record, so why hold it hard against them for that one failure.

I feel my post has given people the impression I care much stronger about this then I actually do. 

I never had a problem with the damsel trope itself. I do respect Caeda for being a NES lady that never was one but I never had a problem with Lilina or Tana getting kidnapped and I'd even say its a logical role for them to some extend.  I certainly wouldn't hold a slight over it or rank characters lower for it. My problem is more that Echoes and Binding Blade seem to make it the default role for their female characters. 

You're correct that ''just about every'' is an exaggeration. But the list of kidnapped or distressed girls is quite long in those two games in ways that it isn't in other Fire Emblem games. I'd never make a big fuss about it but I do notice it and I do think Fire Emblem has generally handled that better. So when a poster says that Echoes might be a tad misogynistic then I do agree. I'm not ranking Echoes any lower for it but I do notice it. 

Edited August 27, 2019 by Etrurian emperor

[AORAO]

Libra will forever be the worst demote in FEH.

Character wise, Jill is better than Ingrid.

Tea Time is.. kind of neat. 

The Roy is racist meme is unfunny.

Griffons needs more love.

[Alastor15243]

41 minutes ago, AORAO said:

Griffons needs more love.

I always thought it would be cool for griffons to come back as sword fliers. I even had this mental image of them in Fates, as a second nohrian flier class, with a side promotion that uses swords and knives called "Sky Pirate".

[Interdimensional Observer]

Just to continue outlining damselism because I do this kinda of rote data stuff:

 

FE11:

Spoiler

1. Norne- Volunteer country girl, no capture.
2. Caeda- Never captured.
3. Lena- Was captured, but rescued by Julian and together they flee.
4. Athena- Wants to rescue children from bandits, but is told by an old man to rest in a village. Joins when Marth visits said village which is not captured or anything.
5. Maria- Captive. 
6. Minerva- Does fighting against your will because of a hostage count as captive? I'd say so. 
7. Linde- Held captive in a slave market.
8. Midia- Captive in a palace prison.
9. Palla- Left Macedon offscreen when Minerva was freed, was prior to that in Minerva's state, but without the little-sister-hostage drama directly affecting them,.
10. Catria- Same as her big sis.
11. Est- Same as her sisters, but stole Mercurius from Grust too.
12. Tiki- Held captive and brainwashed by Gharnef.
13. Elice- Held captive by Gharnef.
14. Nagi- The Divine Dragon ruler Naga, sleeping in another dimension to resurrect oneself in-full in time. But for now, awakes only physically restored, memories lacking and power relatively weak.

 

14 women. 6 definite captives, can Lena kinda count for 7. And the Whitewings were working against their will despite the lack of drama around it like with Minerva.

Removing the SD-exclusive trio of Norne, Athena, and Nagi, all women but Caeda were in some involuntary state at some point in FE1. 10/11.

 

FE12:

Spoiler

1. Cecille- A young and free knight of Altea!
2. Marisha- Not captured, but her grandmother gives her to Marth so she won't be potentially taken into Lang's bedroom. 
3. Catria- Flees from captivity leaving her liege Minerva behind to tell Marth to rescue her.
4. Linde- Captured by the Macedon rebels and rescued by Marth.
5. Palla- Like Catria she fled captivity, but she does her own thing with Julian before joining up with Marth. Which downplays the damselism.
6. Yumina- Was captive with her twin brother, but rescued by Ogma, only to be then put in peril by Macedon vikings, which Marth has to rescue her from.
7. Caeda- Never caught, even when she must flee, it was never preceded by capture.
8. Norne- A volunteer bumpkin who was never worth capturing.
9. Phina- Was going to be captured by thieves, but Navarre rescues her.
10. Minerva- Captured by Macedon rebels, freed by her brother.
11. Maris- A mercenary doing freely what she wants.
12. Athena- She warns Marth of an ambush by Clarisse, but never caught beforehand.
13. Tiki- Any state of imprisonment is for her own good, lest she go feral due to her immature divine mind and body being crushed, having the weight of the Burj Khalifa to uphold with them.
14. Est- Hostage to make Abel fight.
15. Katarina- She really doesn't want to fight Kris, so it's a semi-captivity I see.
16. Sheena- Forced to lead her country into a battle against its will, but not actually being physically held captive.
17. Midia- Made a futile last stand against DE Hardin and by the time Marth arrives, she stands before him captured, unarmed, and about to die in two turns tops without the Rescue staff.
18. Nagi- The partially resurrected Divine Dragon monarch who has come to do battle.
19. Maria- A cherry in the smoothie for Medeus!
20. Elice- And a blueberry too!
21. Lena- Add the pink grapefruit.
22. Nyna- With banana the blender goes "woo"!

 

22 women. Only 7 full blown captives, four of whom might as well be one person. Has five, maybe 6, damsel-ish cases. Much better than the prior two games.

Deducting the five additional women who weren't in FE3, and it is 7/17, which is still less than half.

FE4:

Spoiler

Gen 1:

1. Ethlyn- Never captive, but things still go poorly for her later.
2. Edain- Captured by bandits.
3. Ayra- Forced to fight for bandits against her will with her nephew Prince Shannan being held hostage.
4. Deidre- Isn't captured right away, but... well... you know. *Teleports away*
5. Lachesis- Put under attack by nobles Chagall likes, and Sigurd has to save her from them. But, she is never captured.
6. Sylvia- Her heart is captured by Lewyn's hat, but she is never captive.
7. Erinys- Sent to find Prince Lewyn, gets some incorrect information, but is not in danger of being captured from it.
8. Tailtiu- Claud's self-proclaimed "bodyguard". Isn't caught in the 1st Gen, but... *Hilda's stiletto stomps on her hand with a cleaning rag in it*.
9. Brigid- Has her pirate group betray her and she must run from the big mass of them, but is never captured, not as Brigid.

Gen 2:

1. Larcei- Never caught.
2. Lana- Never caught.
3. Julia- "EXTERMINATE! EXTERMIN-Oh thank you Seliph!"
4. Fee- Never caught.
5. Nanna- Never caught in this game.
6. Patty- Never caught, if on the run.
7. Leen- Captive.
8. Tine- Her life has been one great captivity.
9. Altena- ^^^^ The same, but less cruelly so due to deception.

 

3 captives in the 1st Gen, with a fourth who gets captive in the time gulf between the two Gens. 2-4 captives in the 2nd Gen.

FE5:

Spoiler

1. Eyvel- Lets herself be captured to save Little Lief, Little Nan, and her daughter. Then suffers a much more forced capture at the end of splendid drama.
2. Tanya- Not captive at first, but she and her father alone together have to stave off being killed in Chapter 8x.
3. Safiya- Wasn't captured by Lithis, but he was trying to trick her into having sex with him.
4. Macha- Free and fighting for the freedom of others.
5. Lara- Was captured years ago and saved by Pan, but that isn't in the present of the game. In the present, she's a freedom fighter.
6. Karin- Captive with Fergus and Leif.
7. Nanna- Captive.
8. Selphina- A Leonster knight fighting in self-defense.
9. Olwen- Captive by Kempf.
10. Mareeta- Captive.
11. Tina- Captive.
12. Eda- Not captive.
13. Miranda- Captive.
14. Sara- Not captive.
15. Misha- A mercenary fighting freely who you must capture to recruit.
16. Amalda- Fights with doubts and regrets, but not captive nor wholly fighting against her will.

 

7 out 16 definite cases of captivity. One short of half, with two semi-captivities possibly bringing it over the line.

FE7:

Spoiler

1. Rebecca- Not captured.
2. Serra- Not captured.
3. Priscilla- Not captured.
4. Lyn- Not captured, only held by Uhai as a hostage for a second.
5. Florina- Threatened in Lyn Mode, but not captive.
6. Fiora- The last of her mercenary squad, but not ever captive.
7. Ninian- THE DEFINITION OF A DAMSEL.
8. Isadora- Not captured.
9. Farina- Mercenary who sets her own price.
10. Louise- Not captured.
11. Nino- Almost killed, but not captured.
12. Vaida- Not captured.
13. Karla- Not captured.

FE8:

Spoiler

1. Eirika- Never captured, but almost tricked into one.
2. Vanessa- Not captured.
3. Neimi- Not captured.
4. Lute- Not captured.
5. Natasha- Not captured, but flees for her life.
6. Tana- Captured once or twice, depending on route.
7. Amelia- Not captured.
8. Marisa- Not captured, and her fighting on the wrong side has no implications of going south if not corrected like with Fir.
9. L'Arachel- Not captured.
10. Myrrh- Captured once offscreen and rescued by Ephraim. Selena chooses not to make her a hostage.
11. Syrene- Not captured.

 

Only one, maybe two or three with Eirika cases of being captured.

 

FE9:

Spoiler

1. Titania- Not captured.
2. Mia- Not captured onscreen, but was rescued by Greil offscreen beforehand.
3. Ilyana- Forced to fight under threat of death.
4. Mist- Not captured.
5. Marcia- Not captured.
6. Lethe- Not captured.
7. Nephenee- Captive with some dudes.
8. Jill- Not captured.
9. Astrid- Not captured.
10. Tanith- Not captured.
11. Calill- Not captured.
12. Lucia- Not captured.
13. Elincia- Not captured, though having to flee from Daein during the game's beginning.
14. Ena- Captured trying to see her beloved again.

3-5 out 14 cases, not bad. 

FE10:

Spoiler

1. Micaiah- Captured and quickly released for one chapter.
2. Laura- Same.
3. Ilyana- Same.
4. Meg- Not captured.
5. Jill- Not captured.
6. Fiona- Not captured.
7. Vika- Not captured.
8. Nailah- Who the hell would be able to capture this war goddess?
9. Elincia- Not captured.
10. Marcia- Not captured.
11. Leanne- Not captured in this game, but was a notable NPC damsel in the prior one.
12. Nephenee- Not captured here.
13. Heather- Not captured.
14. Lucia- Captive.
15. Lethe- Not captured.
16. Astrid- Not captured.
17. Calill- Not captured.
18. Titania- Not captured.
19. Mist- Not captured.
20. Mia- Not captured.
21. Lyre- Not captured.
22. Sigrun- Not captured, but does spend time unofficially and nonphysically restrained by Sanaki's capture.
23. Tanith- ^^ Same.
24. Sanaki- Captured.
25. Ena- Not captured.

Only two major cases of captivity in 25. With three very short imprisonments, one playable with a recent NPC past of captivity, and two who were likely be watched for suspicious activity, but never arrested.

So, FE1 is as bad if not worse than FE2, if not perhaps felt to be as bad. But things got better with the War of Heroes.

Genealogy isn't bad in terms of numbers, but it is worse in feeling due to certain captivities being rather prominent. Thracia has worse captivities in numbers, but the greatest captivity feels well-executed.

In GBA post-6 captivity almost entirely disappears. With Ninian being the one great damsel exception. And this remains true in Tellius, and certainly the 13 world and beyond.

[Alastor15243]

@Interdimensional Observer I don't think the hostage-taking situation with the whitewings should count, namely because it doesn't imply weakness and isn't a stereotypically feminine trope in any way at all.

[Etrurian emperor]

23 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

So, FE1 is as bad if not worse than FE2, if not perhaps felt to be as bad. But things got better with the War of Heroes.

With Shadow Dragon I think the number of male captives somewhat distracts from that. Midia and Est might get kidnapped at the drop of a had but when saving Midia there's also Boah and those two generic bald generals. There's also Gordin and Rickard. That's kind of with most games. There's more of a gender balance on that front which I don't think Echoes and Binding really have. So the message in the other games isn't as much that the girls get captured for being girls but that people get captured because there's a giant war going on.

Edited August 27, 2019 by Etrurian emperor

[Interdimensional Observer]

10 minutes ago, Alastor15243 said:

@Interdimensional Observer I don't think the hostage-taking situation with the whitewings should count, namely because it doesn't imply weakness and isn't a stereotypically feminine trope in any way at all.

True, you're right it isn't "damselism" the way say Maria and Elice are. Captive, but not damsels. A meaningful difference.

6 minutes ago, Etrurian emperor said:

With Shadow Dragon I think the number of male captives somewhat distracts from that. Midia and Est might get kidnapped at the drop of a had but when saving Midia there's also Boah and those two generic bald generals. There's also Gordin and Rickard. That's kind of with most games. There's more of a gender balance on that front which I don't think Echoes and Binding really have. So the message in the other games isn't as much that the girls get captured for being girls but that people get captured because there's a giant war going on.

I should've mentioned that, when I did include Fergus and Leif in describing's Karin situation. And Midia's capture in FE3B2 is one in defiance to the end, which is stronger than damselism is.