What is your unpopular Fire Emblem opinion?

[Saint Rubenio]

14 minutes ago, Eltosian Kadath said:

You should give Conquest a try then as it has some of the best gameplay in the series. The story may have had ISSUES but the gameplay was stellar, especially on hard and lunatic.

Maybe I shall, one day. Frankly, more than anything else, what keeps me from playing the 3DS titles is that they're, well, on the 3DS. I have a 3DS, so it would feel scummy to download and emulate them, but accustomed to bigger monitors as I am, playing on a tiny screen and with tiny controls is not pleasant. Doesn't help that my 3DS is the very first model. It's part of the ambassador program, to give you an idea of how old it is. Works well, but again, everything is so tiny.

[Pengaius]

36 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:

Maybe I shall, one day. Frankly, more than anything else, what keeps me from playing the 3DS titles is that they're, well, on the 3DS. I have a 3DS, so it would feel scummy to download and emulate them, but accustomed to bigger monitors as I am, playing on a tiny screen and with tiny controls is not pleasant. Doesn't help that my 3DS is the very first model. It's part of the ambassador program, to give you an idea of how old it is. Works well, but again, everything is so tiny.

If you really do feel that bad about, Maerchening the 3ds games, you could always, buy them, and then emulate, once you have them owned, or we could just say I hyperdimensionally transported my physical copies of Conquest, Birthright and Awakening over to you, and leave it at that, (not like buying secondhand supports nintendo anyway), comprende¿

[Flere210]

1 hour ago, Etrurian emperor said:

To be fair that isn't wholly unreasonable. Fates had its merits but it had several weak links that really needed to be addressed such as world building, story, tone and villains. If a game shows improvement in precisely those areas where Fates dropped the ball then that's still worthy of praise. 

Yes, but they dropped the good things alongside the bad, and i fear we are going to get another Thracia situation, where all the brillant ideas got axed instead of improved. 

Edited February 9, 2020 by Flere210

[Deathcon]

1 hour ago, Etrurian emperor said:

Though what strikes me when it comes to Three Houses isn't how different it is than Fates, but how similar it is. Fates had an incredibly flawed way of handling its villains, namely that they barely put any effort in them and hoped the drama between the two families would make up for the garbage villains. Three Houses pretty much replicated this flawed approach. The Slitherers are hardly any better then team Garon and its up to the conflict between the houses to make up for the uninteresting villains. I find the drama of the houses more convincing than that of the feuding families but ultimately its the same bad approach to handling villains.  When it comes to villains Three Houses improved very little compared to Fates. 

Yeah that's the point tho... You're supposed to feel bad about the allies you killed(especially if it isn't your first playthrough( and the slithered are supposed to be the break to the sympathetic villain. Villains you have no qualms killing. If everyone was likeable in their own way would a FE game truly be fun?

FE has always strain from the path of making all sides likable, the closest it got is arguably RD but you play almost all sides, as hating killing everyone will make it unfun. While there are likable enemies, like in real wars, if everyone was one it defeats the point.

[Etrurian emperor]

7 minutes ago, Deathcon said:

Yeah that's the point tho... You're supposed to feel bad about the allies you killed(especially if it isn't your first playthrough( and the slithered are supposed to be the break to the sympathetic villain. Villains you have no qualms killing. If everyone was likeable in their own way would a FE game truly be fun?

FE has always strain from the path of making all sides likable, the closest it got is arguably RD but you play almost all sides, as hating killing everyone will make it unfun. While there are likable enemies, like in real wars, if everyone was one it defeats the point.

I don't think the Slitherers not being likable is the problem. The problem is that they are boring and without any charisma. The weakness of the Slitherers isn't that they are deeply unsympathetic. Most Fire Emblem villains aren't exactly cuddly but they can be amusing or impressive despite that. The Slitherers are none of those things. 

I think Lekain is an interesting contrast for them since he too is from a game where the cast is fighting among themselves. Unlike the Dawn Brigade or the Greil mercenaries he's thoroughly unsympathetic in whatever he does but he's also expressionate, amusing and fairly competent. Lekain has a very clear personality aside from being stereotypically evil while being stereotypically evil is all the Slitherers(or team Garon) have going for them. With Thales I never found it a problem that he's irredeemable, my problem is that he bores me whenever he shows up. 

[Flere210]

Lekain whole plan about Dein was "let's hope the king is stupid enought to sign a contract whitout reading it." Wich tbf worked quite well for devils in fiction.

Edited February 9, 2020 by Flere210

[AnonymousSpeed]

16 hours ago, Saint Rubenio said:

It was nothing. I do love a good rant.

Now, if you've any names to call me, bring 'em on. I'll take anything you have.

"Saint" Rubenio? What are you, a Catholic?!

16 hours ago, Saint Rubenio said:

Don't disa-- G-Gaaah...! How could you... say something so awful?! How can I be a filthy elitist contrarian, if somebody agrees with me?!

I appear to have a fondness for elitist contrarianism. I am a reader of Armond White, who's best known for disagreeing with people.

16 hours ago, Saint Rubenio said:

If you do get around to playing it, I would advise that you wait for a bit. Very very soon, the first "final" version of the translation will be released. It'll be a good time to get started. Believe you me, Berwick withdrawal has been a bitch to deal with this whole year since I first discovered the game.

Already following the thread.

16 hours ago, Saint Rubenio said:

About the main objectives, I do not think they're as important as side objectives, to be honest. Unless it's something that truly changes how you play (like Thracia's escape maps and defense maps), I'm fine with a seize-a-palooza. The problem with Three Houses is that, on top of being mostly "rout" and "kill commander", it has very little else. Take FE12, for instance - it's "seize" all the way through, but the maps have enough in the way of treasure, thieves to chase, characters to recruit, time limits like Astram and Hardin... that they're still engaging.

Also FE6 because I must take all opportunities to discuss my fondness for FE6. Maps like Chapter 11 (Echidna) and Chapter 16 also showcase how interesting side objectives can massively improve a map and make the same win condition feel very different compared to other instances of it.

10 hours ago, Saint Rubenio said:

Prequel memes? A surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one.

Fire Emblem has become the very thing it swore to destroy.

[Hanes]

On 2/7/2020 at 4:07 PM, Pengaius said:

Optimal gameplay is the least fun, sub optimal play and RNG gambling make for a fun game. 

Isn't this already mostly agreed on? People always say "I understand how training X from zero to hero is fun" and other such statements.

Rng gambling is also generally agreed to be more fun to watch as far as I know rather than play

[vanguard333]

36 minutes ago, Flere210 said:

Lekain whole plan about Dein was "let's hope the king is stupid enought to sign a contract whitout reading it." Wich tbf worked quite well for devils in fiction.

To be fair, Pelleas was supposed to be a puppet for Izuka. The fact that Pelleas disagreed with Izuka at times and stood up for himself a few times was a shock to everyone. So, when the person you're deceiving is a groomed puppet (or at least supposed to be), it's fair to assume Izuka can trick him into signing a supposed peace treaty without reading it. 

[Benice]

I may have already said this, but Amelia is the best general option in FE8. And I say this as a man who is currently torturing himself on a trainee-only run that has shaken my faith in Amelia considerably.

Not sure if this is unpopular, but Mist is basically useless as a unit in RD.

Nolan low-key kinda sucks even in part one. Yes, he's the only person (other than Sothe) who can survive two hits, but MAN, having worse speed than Miciaih on THREE SEPERATE RUNS when they're the same level really bites. I couldn't even deploy him for endgame because he got doubled by everything. 

[Icelerate]

I think Alm's voice acting alone, which makes even an NPC like the gatekeeper likeable, makes Alm a more enjoyable character than Roy and Seliph. 

[Ottservia]

Just now, Icelerate said:

I think Alm's voice acting alone, which makes even an NPC like the gatekeeper likeable, makes Alm a more enjoyable character than Roy and Seliph. 

I can agree with this. I SoV's voice acting in general makes the game's writing seem a lot better than it actually is. I mean seriously remove the voice acting from the game and the quality of the supports just tank

[Icelerate]

1 minute ago, Ottservia said:

I can agree with this. I SoV's voice acting in general makes the game's writing seem a lot better than it actually is. I mean seriously remove the voice acting from the game and the quality of the supports just tank

The best part of SoV's story is its presentation which is arguably the best in the series. 

[Jotari]

2 hours ago, Flere210 said:

Lekain whole plan about Dein was "let's hope the king is stupid enought to sign a contract whitout reading it." Wich tbf worked quite well for devils in fiction.

It's not quite as simple as that, as he had the lawyer who supposedly reviewed it in his pocket.

2 hours ago, vanguard333 said:

To be fair, Pelleas was supposed to be a puppet for Izuka. The fact that Pelleas disagreed with Izuka at times and stood up for himself a few times was a shock to everyone. So, when the person you're deceiving is a groomed puppet (or at least supposed to be), it's fair to assume Izuka can trick him into signing a supposed peace treaty without reading it. 

It was less a trick and more an outright betrayal. It was Izuka's job to go over the document as much as it would be a generals job to lead an army.

Edited February 9, 2020 by Jotari

[Lightcosmo]

2 hours ago, Benice said:

Not sure if this is unpopular, but Mist is basically useless as a unit in RD.

I'm pretty sure this is very common knowledge, but I could be wrong. I agree, obviously.

[Eltosian Kadath]

4 hours ago, Flere210 said:

Lekain whole plan about Dein was "let's hope the king is stupid enought to sign a contract whitout reading it." Wich tbf worked quite well for devils in fiction.

How many "Terms of Service" or "End User License Agreements" do you read to find out what rights you have contracted away? 

[Stephano]

My unpopular opinion:

Fire Emblem Three Houses is just “Okay”

its certainly not a bad game and there is a lot of fun to be had. But compared to other FE games, it’s just “Okay”

[Jandex]

45 minutes ago, Stephano said:

My unpopular opinion:

Fire Emblem Three Houses is just “Okay”

its certainly not a bad game and there is a lot of fun to be had. But compared to other FE games, it’s just “Okay”

what makes u think that ?

[Jotari]

1 hour ago, Stephano said:

My unpopular opinion:

Fire Emblem Three Houses is just “Okay”

its certainly not a bad game and there is a lot of fun to be had. But compared to other FE games, it’s just “Okay”

Imo, most Fire Emblem games are pretty okay. There's not one in the series that really stands out to me as outrageously good or bad.

[Stephano]

3 hours ago, Jandex said:

what makes u think that ?

There’s a lot of things in the game that bothered me. Nothing turned me off from the game but the more I played it, the more I wished it was more like the older titles pre Awakening.

i missed mechanics like rescuing, and traditional recruitment. I miss having to limited resources (Although i know GHW has repairing). I’m not a fan of the whole “make your units whatever you want” idea that Three Houses have. I liked it when you got a unit and you had to make the best of it. Being able to class change to me feels like characters loose their identity. I know characters lean towards certain classes, but they still feel soulless to me.

I don’t like the school setting. I want gritty war with actual stakes. The second have of the game kind of has this but always having to go back to the school after every battle just seems like no progress is being made. I don’t mind a home base because it can be done right. Tellius and GHW did this flawlessly.

the story to me is just average, although every fire emblem story except for 4,5,9,10 is either average or downright terrible. I k

The voice acting to be is a disappointment especially after the AMAZING voice acting in Echoes. Seriously, Echoes has some of the best voice acting I’ve ever seen. The long awkward pauses in Three Houses just feel.... weird. Combined with the weird animations, everything feels uncanny. The graphics look dated. I know it uses the warriors engine but the characters in that game look a lot better then the ones in this game. The switch is capable of better looking games like BotW and Doom so it’s a shame that the graphics look like they are from the PS2

there is a lot more that bothers but the thing I hate the most is Byleth. Avatars/self inserts do not belong in fire emblem in my opinion. Byleth May be emotionless by design but just because the story says she is that way doesn’t mean it’s a good idea. The lords are better characters then Byleth because they have flaws. Sigurd, Erika, Leif, Hector Ike, are all better because they are flawed. 

 

I had a lot of fun with Three Houses and i’m Okay with a sandbox fire emblem game every once in a while. I just hope that future games will return to a more traditional style either from the gba, snes, or GC/Wii

[Shrimpica]

25 minutes ago, Stephano said:

I miss having to limited resources (Although i know GHW has repairing). I’m not a fan of the whole “make your units whatever you want” idea that Three Houses have. I liked it when you got a unit and you had to make the best of it. Being able to class change to me feels like characters loose their identity. I know characters lean towards certain classes, but they still feel soulless to me.

You know you can just play it like you would play an old FE? Play without aux battles or grinding, and it pretty much feels like a classic game, limited resources included.

Nobody forces you to grind in Sacred stones, either.

And i never understood the ''identity is bound  to classes thing''. If a class is all a character has, then they aren't  good written character or unique enough. Skills make characters much more unique then classes ever did. And writing.

25 minutes ago, Stephano said:

I want gritty war with actual stakes. The second have of the game kind of has this but always having to go back to the school after every battle just seems like no progress is being made

There's a skip button

The game offers you choice on how you play it. You can play it like classic games. You can play it like modern. You can do meme runs. You can go super efficient. You can grind if you want. You can, you can etc. 

If you don't like an option, don't use it 😉

Edited February 9, 2020 by Shrimperor

[Saint Rubenio]

57 minutes ago, Shrimperor said:

i never understood the ''identity is bound  to classes thing''. If a class is all a character has, then they aren't  good written character or unique enough. Skills make characters much more unique then classes ever did. And writing.

It does create a massive story-gameplay rift when you're having the old guy beat people to death, the tough-as-nails knight relegated to healing duty, the muscles-over-brains person sling spells and the lazy scholar swing an axe around.

Still, I don't think it quite "ruins the characters" - what it does is create a great distance between the character and the unit. As fun as it is, reclassing does make it feel like they're not the same thing. Whether or not that's an important enough issue to ruin everything for you is a matter of personal opinion.

1 hour ago, Shrimperor said:

You know you can just play it like you would play an old FE? Play without aux battles or grinding, and it pretty much feels like a classic game, limited resources included.

Nobody forces you to grind in Sacred stones, either.

 

There's a skip button

The game offers you choice on how you play it. You can play it like classic games. You can play it like modern. You can do meme runs. You can go super efficient. You can grind if you want. You can, you can etc. 

If you don't like an option, don't use it 😉

Except for the part where, if you skip the monastery, you miss out on items, faster supports, recruiting anybody, training Byleth's weapon ranks (which is huge, since you can't tutor them, and you need those ranks to recruit other students - then again, without the monastery, you just can't do that, period), and an entire friggin' route which can only be unlocked by talking to a character in the monastery.

There's just too much loss involved in skipping the monastery chores. Which makes the fact that they take an hour every single time quite egregious, if you ask me. Half the playtime ends up consisting of running around the monastery doing menial tasks.

[Imuabicus der Fertige]

 

1 hour ago, Shrimperor said:

1 hour ago, Stephano said:

I want gritty war with actual stakes. The second have of the game kind of has this but always having to go back to the school after every battle just seems like no progress is being made

There's a skip button

Disclaimer: As I have not played on Maddening, feel free to correct me if I have made a mistake pertaining to said difficulty. 

Let´s entertain the thought of skipping for a bit.

The least important aspect of skipping is skipping support scenes and cutscenes. I mean you don´t get to choose some avatar lines but other than that? Nothing of value was lost.

Now let us take a look at skipping monthly activities. If you decide to skip them, you lose out on the following:

The chance to use the weekend activities, in other words you lose money, weapon/unit experience, you can´t train Byleth proficiencies. Also, paralogues and I guess Sword of the Creator won´t be recharged without Rest. But here’s the thing. Skipping in Three Houses does not mean that you can skip stuff. You are forced to partake in class, the birthday here the holiday/festivals there will stop your skipping etc. Additionally, skipping class means you get the average outcome for teaching. No Great! no Perfect! and what is arguably an advantage no Bad! (How much this factor into a playthrough on the differing difficulties I don’t know)

You have probably already caught on to it, but you lose something else when skipping. NO EXPLORING. Characters morale will be severely cut back, outside the MVP spot after battle, since you can’t eat with them. Even less progress during the forced class. No chance to recruit out of house characters. And most importantly: NO PROFESSOR RANK. What does that mean? Even less money, even less weapon/unit experience, limited access to items and weaponry (I think these are tied to Prof Level?). And pray tell, how do you train Byleths movement types without exploring?

Skipping in Three Houses, depending on how much its stuff you want to skip will severely punish/limit you and that should not be the case for a FE. It’s also the only FE game that does so as far as I know, but I only know DS upwards.

Edited February 9, 2020 by Imuabicus
Grammar. Lots of grammar.

[Shrimpica]

10 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:

Which makes the fact that they take an hour every single time quite egregious

After first playthrough (of every route) it just takes like 10 min to go do the food stuff fast.

9 minutes ago, Imuabicus said:

weapon/unit experience

When skipping you auto train.

9 minutes ago, Imuabicus said:

Sword of the Creator won´t be recharged without Rest.

Skip = rest, so SotC recharges.

It also recharges motivation by 50%, for each week.

9 minutes ago, Imuabicus said:

You are forced to partake in class, the birthday here the holiday/festivals there will stop your skipping etc.

You are not forced, you can just say ''nah, don't wanna''

10 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:

It does create a massive story-gameplay rift when you're having the old guy beat people to death, the tough-as-nails knight relegated to healing duty, the muscles-over-brains person sling spells and the lazy scholar swing an axe around.

For me it's a ''i just picked it up''/''wanna try something different''. Works especially well in 3H, since academy and all

Edited February 9, 2020 by Shrimperor

[eclipse]

1 hour ago, Shrimperor said:

There's a skip button

The fact that we go from the heart of some country back to the monastery breaks immersion for me.  I can understand why it happens on a gameplay level (improve ranks, restock, etc.), though.