Alastor plays and ranks the whole series! Mission Complete! ...For now.

[Jotari]

 

4 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

Hey, so, I don't think this schedule is working. At least not at this specific moment.

I'm gonna have to take today off regardless, given I won't have that much time for it today anyway, but more generally I don't think I can keep up the pace I've been going at into next week. I've been play logging about 4-6 hours a day this week, which I can afford to do because I don't have a conventional 9-5 job and usually have below-average total work hours, but my workload changes by seasonal demand and summers tend to be the busiest time of all, and as a result putting that much time into my hobby consumed basically what remained of my free time.

To give you a bit of a peek into the whole process, over the course of four days, during which I play logged for at least 4 hours each day, I have beaten two chapters, which has taken 4 total hours in-game time, and I've written a total of roughly 30 pages in word. I play logged that much this week because this game is so slow already, and I knew it would take literally forever if I didn't bring my play logging pace back up to earlier standards, and apparently I was right. But at this current moment I just can't keep that up without burnout being almost imminent, so I need to come up with a better solution.

Anyway, have a great weekend everyone. I'll see you on Monday, hopefully with a better solution. Though obviously if you ask me something here I'll probably reply.

I think a lot of this will be front loaded, because there's so much to rant talk about when it comes to monastery exploration. But pretty soon you'll be sinking a tonne of time into monastery stuff that you just won't have anything to say about, and from the writing perspective it'll probably just be the usual plot and gameplay analysis. ON the other hand though once the monastary stops being a topic of play logging, that's when the supports will start to roll in 0.o So, eh, good luck I guess.

Edited July 30, 2021 by Jotari

[Imuabicus der Fertige]

4 hours ago, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

I wouldn't consider Seminars, or weekly instruction, "Monastery related stuff". Because they don't require using the Explore command to engage in.

Yes, but the point is/was, we want to skip as much as possible. All of this is skippable. Hence the pondering. 

4 hours ago, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

While they all have major Crests, they comd from various backgrounds. Constance and Balthus come from noble families, but they're not exactly able to exercise that nobility just now. Hapi grew up in a remote village before being captured, while Yuri is an orphan with a mean streak.

I meant class as in the school class. 

[Alastor15243]

One more thing:

I think I'm gonna re-instate the "presentation" tier, and not be lazy about naming the categories this time. Because I really, really can't pretend anymore that it doesn't have any impact on my enjoyment of the game or my ability to take it seriously.

I'll be focusing on how much the shortcomings in the visuals take you out of the experience, or how much their quality adds to it. So expect the GBA games to be pretty dang high up there for their gorgeous spritework.

Edited July 30, 2021 by Alastor15243

[Shadow Mir]

While you're considering how to proceed from here, I have a few questions:

• Who are you planning on using?
• Who are you planning to recruit, if anyone?
• Who are you planning on making your dancer?
• Why did you pick to have a female Byleth?

[Alastor15243]

10 hours ago, Shadow Mir said:

While you're considering how to proceed from here, I have a few questions:

• Who are you planning on using?
• Who are you planning to recruit, if anyone?
• Who are you planning on making your dancer?
• Why did you pick to have a female Byleth?

I'm planning on discussing character builds once I get to the first lesson. As I said before, my main recruitment plans are Leonie and Constance (though the Ashen Wolves as a whole are free so I'll be getting all of them, even if not all of them get active use). As for the fourth question, as I said in the first part, it's because she looks absolutely ridiculous and I need some more laughter in this playthrough.

Edited July 31, 2021 by Alastor15243

[Sunwoo]

So I didn't end up finishing Verdant Wind before my copy of NEO: TWEWY came in.

So @Alastor15243, sorry if you already answered this earlier when you started 3H, but I am curious as to whether you'll talk about the story/stories of the paths that you don't end up playing. (Because I'd never ask anyone who hates 3H to play through all four of its paths.) If you know or remember them well enough, I'd definitely be interested in hearing what you think about the stories of all four paths, because I have a lot of words about them myself.

[Alastor15243]

4 hours ago, Sunwoo said:

So I didn't end up finishing Verdant Wind before my copy of NEO: TWEWY came in.

So @Alastor15243, sorry if you already answered this earlier when you started 3H, but I am curious as to whether you'll talk about the story/stories of the paths that you don't end up playing. (Because I'd never ask anyone who hates 3H to play through all four of its paths.) If you know or remember them well enough, I'd definitely be interested in hearing what you think about the stories of all four paths, because I have a lot of words about them myself.

Crimson Flower, as a first path, confused me beyond reason and felt like it skipped half its chapters in terms of both length and explaining what the fuck was going on. I was alternately baffled by the story, bored by the monastery, and reduced to a babbling, paranoid wreck by the gameplay.

The biggest takeaway I have from Verdant Wind and Silver Snow is that I became convinced even Rhea's "real" story about the elites was a near total lie, because I just do not trust a single word that woman says and the story would be infinitely more compelling if she were lying. Also, Claude is every bit as much of an extremist shit as Edelgard was, stealing her empire from her and thus getting all of the power with none of the bad PR.

Actually for that matter it infuriates me that two of the four endings have Byleth as the literal God-Emperor of Fodlan like that's a happy ending that could possibly end well.

I could probably go on further but I really don't want to text for five hours. I'll mention stuff about the other routes if I'm reminded.

Edited August 1, 2021 by Alastor15243

[Sunwoo]

10 minutes ago, Alastor15243 said:

Crimson Flower, as a first path, confused me beyond reason and felt like it skipped half its chapters in terms of both length and explaining what the fuck was going on. I was I was alternately baffled by the story, bored by the monastery, and reduced to a babbling, paranoid wreck by the gameplay.

The biggest takeaway I have from Verdant Wind and Silver Snow is that I became convinced even Rhea's "real" story about the elites was a near total lie, because I just do not trust a single word that woman says and the story would be infinitely more compelling if she were lying. Also, Claude is every bit as much of an extremist shit as Edelgard was, stealing her empire from her and thus getting all of the power with none of the bad PR.

Actually for that matter it infuriates me that two of the four endings have Byleth as the literal God-Emperor of Fodlan like that's a happy ending that could possibly end well.

I could probably go on further but I really don't want to text for five hours. I'll mention stuff about the other routes if I'm reminded.

So I guess you didn't like Crimson Flower much either. CF was the second path I played in 3H, and the story felt like "Conquest 2.0: They really didn't learn anything". I'm not sure if you'd agree here, but it felt to me like 3H was so strangely protective of Edelgard to a level even beyond the Nohr siblings. Even though she's an antagonist for 3/4 paths, the game went so out of its way to have characters react to Edelgard with more sympathy and attempts to compromise than she really deserved, and Byleth being so reluctant to hurt her while they're perfectly fine chopping down Claude, Dimitri, and Rhea. Not to mention that CF gives Rhea and Dimitri less depth when they're the antagonists while making Edelgard feel more like cutesy waifu who doesn't really have to face the consequences of her actions.

Man, CF's story was the worst. Second only to Conquest.

EDIT: Although I should mention that I wasn't big on Azure Moon and Silver Snow either. And Verdant Wind is basically Silver Snow + Claude, but even Claude didn't hold my attention much. The overall story of 3H is too convoluted.

Edited July 31, 2021 by Sunwoo

[Samz707]

39 minutes ago, Alastor15243 said:

 

Actually for that matter it infuriates me that two of the four endings have Byleth as the literal God-Emperor of Fodlan like that's a happy ending that could possibly end well.

I could probably go on further but I really don't want to text for five hours. I'll mention stuff about the other routes if I'm reminded.

I know it's a bit early but that pisses me off.

The game has dialogue choices, Byleth becoming God-Emperor is literally the last thing, is it that hard to just give the player a choice?

Just have "Nah ,you sort this out yourself, I want to go back to being a simple mercenary" as a dialogue option, it's literally the very end of the game from what I know so it's not like you have to change alot.

[Interdimensional Observer]

10 minutes ago, Samz707 said:

The game has dialogue choices, Byleth becoming God-Emperor is literally the last thing, is it that hard to just give the player a choice?

Just have "Nah ,you sort this out yourself, I want to go back to being a simple mercenary" as a dialogue option, it's literally the very end of the game from what I know so it's not like you have to change alot.

I'm reminded of Suikoden 2. An antiquated PS1 JRPG by Konami, while a personality-free, silent, worshipped-like-crazy MC. Provided you've fulfilled the requirements for the true ending, after defeating the final boss, you can either:

• Become president of the liberated and unified country.
• Or, reunite with your childhood friends, leave governance behind, and go on an adventure with them. -The True Ending.

Edited July 31, 2021 by Interdimensional Observer

[Sunwoo]

If it makes anyone feel better, unified Fodlan most likely split into several countries with a bit of civil war on the side only a few decades after our heroes have passed on. In the real world, unifying a bunch of regions made up of people who don't share the same ethnic group, language, religion, or values doesn't end well. Nor does a region unified through conquest last very long after the original conquerer's death.

Edelgard's Empire will probably only exist for a couple of years after her death. One or two successors if she's lucky. I don't think Dimitri's unified kingdom is long for the world either, the former Empire will probably want to break away from the Kingdom at some point or another. And with Byleth at the helm ... well, the game seems pretty vague about their natural lifespan, but unified Fodlan dies with Byleth as well. Usually, countries held together forcibly by conquest fall to pieces once the charismatic and powerful ruler that brought it together dies. And while it's not always immediate, it's a matter of time.

In other words, gg Fodlan. You've doomed yourself to inevitable bad end.

Edited July 31, 2021 by Sunwoo

[Acacia Sgt]

Looks like someone didn't read up about the Habsburg Empire. Even that one took centuries to break apart... and mostly because of World War I.

Edited July 31, 2021 by Acacia Sgt

[Sunwoo]

Hey, there are too many former empires and kingdoms to keep track of, I can't remember all of them. Besides, I did cover my butt with liberal use of "most likely" and "usually" and "it's not always immediate". I fail to see where I was wrong?

[Acacia Sgt]

11 minutes ago, Sunwoo said:

I fail to see where I was wrong?

 

38 minutes ago, Sunwoo said:

In other words, gg Fodlan. You've doomed yourself to inevitable bad end.

This word right here. You're subscribing to an absolute outcome for a situation that is still very open-ended. As shown by history, countries can go either way regardless of how they came to be. Modern Japan unified four hundred years ago through war and conquest... and is still united today. The Habsburgs became a charismatic dynasty, since most people's loyalty was not so much to the Austrian State, but to the Habsburg Family. It was this loyalty that held AH together through most of WWI, despite how badly the country itself was doing. Ultimately, it's a big unknown to how long Unified Fodlan can last, regardless of its formation or who its ruler is.

[lenticular]

47 minutes ago, Sunwoo said:

If it makes anyone feel better, unified Fodlan most likely split into several countries with a bit of civil war on the side only a few decades after our heroes have passed on. In the real world, unifying a bunch of regions made up of people who don't share the same ethnic group, language, religion, or values doesn't end well. Nor does a region unified through conquest last very long after the original conquerer's death.

Fódlan generally does share all those things, though. All three polities share the same religion (and to the extent that there is variation, such as the schism of the Western Church, this is a problem within the states, not across state lines). They also seem to have the same language. Notably, Petra is presented as not being fluent in the Fódlan language but everyone else is shown having no difficulty communicating. In terms of ethnicity, I don't think there's really enough to go on to say that they're definitely all the same ethnicity, but I also don't think there's evidence that they aren't either. Culturally, they have a shared history (having once been unified as a single country but having since fragmented), a shared institution in Garreg Mach, very similar systems of nobility and feudalism, etc. Characters from outside of Fódlan comment on aspects of Fódlan culture that are strange to them. And so on and so forth.

Which isn't to say that the reunification would inevitably be successful and lasting, but I also don't think that things are anywhere near as bleak as you're presenting.

[Sunwoo]

29 minutes ago, Acacia Sgt said:

This word right here. You're subscribing to an absolute outcome for a situation that is still very open-ended. As shown by history, countries can go either way regardless of how they came to be. Modern Japan unified four hundred years ago through war and conquest... and is still united today. The Habsburgs became a charismatic dynasty, since most people's loyalty was not so much to the Austrian State, but to the Habsburg Family. It was this loyalty that held AH together through most of WWI, despite how badly the country itself was doing. Ultimately, it's a big unknown to how long Unified Fodlan can last, regardless of its formation or who its ruler is.

Meh, I have to disagree with that. I just don't think unified Fodlan has a very good foundation, and I do think it's a matter of time before it falls apart. Maybe it's not inevitable, but I think it's more likely than not. Also, I'm not entirely convinced that Edelgard in particular has thought out the idea of her meritocracy either. It sounds like it may be good on paper but not good in practice. Who also knows how Dimitri and Byleth's unified Fodlans end up anyway? There's a lot of potential for shit to go down.

Besides, I ... don't agree with the Japanese Empire example. They went overboard and conquered a bunch of countries in Asia (something that some of my older Korean relatives are still salty as fuck about). No one in those countries was happy about it, and Japan eventually lost all those conquered territories when they lost the war. THAT was less than 100 years ago and still was pretty "modern", and I count that as an Empire falling apart. The British Empire also, one way or another, is no longer what they used to be. If it still even exists as an "Empire". Yugoslavia is also a thing that existed probably early on in my lifetime, and no longer does. And Sudan split into two in 2008. And the Middle East is still a dumpster fire of a region. There are definitely more examples of countries trying to rip themselves apart.

Even if "inevitable" isn't the right word, I don't think the one example of the Hapsburgs is enough to counter pretty much every other example. Not to mention ... it still doesn't exist anymore. Whether it was because of WWII or not, it did eventually come down.

EDIT:

9 minutes ago, lenticular said:

Fódlan generally does share all those things, though. All three polities share the same religion (and to the extent that there is variation, such as the schism of the Western Church, this is a problem within the states, not across state lines). They also seem to have the same language. Notably, Petra is presented as not being fluent in the Fódlan language but everyone else is shown having no difficulty communicating. In terms of ethnicity, I don't think there's really enough to go on to say that they're definitely all the same ethnicity, but I also don't think there's evidence that they aren't either. Culturally, they have a shared history (having once been unified as a single country but having since fragmented), a shared institution in Garreg Mach, very similar systems of nobility and feudalism, etc. Characters from outside of Fódlan comment on aspects of Fódlan culture that are strange to them. And so on and so forth.

Which isn't to say that the reunification would inevitably be successful and lasting, but I also don't think that things are anywhere near as bleak as you're presenting.

Well, considering that the leader of the Empire actively overthrew the Church that everyone worships ... don't think religion's really a unifying factor for CF at least.

Also, the Kingdom and the Alliance have been separated from the Empire (and each other) long enough for them to have different enough cultures, which is one thing I forgot to mention but is also a big deal. The Kingdom and the Empire and the Alliance don't necessary have the exact same values, they've diverged. It's kind of reminiscent of how Tellius's beorc countries were said to have formed. Begnion first, then Crimea and Daein split off from Begnion due to big idealogical differences in relationships with the laguz. Would it be realistic to crunch the three beorc countries to make one unified Beorclandia? At this point, probably not ... even if they all get along at the end.

In the case of Fodlan, even if all these people are the same ethnic group and have the same language and all that stuff, I think there will be too much resentment between people of the different (former) countries for it to stay together.

Edited July 31, 2021 by Sunwoo

[Acacia Sgt]

1 minute ago, Sunwoo said:

Meh, I have to disagree with that. I just don't think unified Fodlan has a very good foundation, and I do think it's a matter of time before it falls apart. Maybe it's not inevitable, but I think it's more likely than not. Also, I'm not entirely convinced that Edelgard in particular has thought out the idea of her meritocracy either. It sounds like it may be good on paper but not good in practice. Who also knows how Dimitri and Byleth's unified Fodlans end up anyway? There's a lot of potential for shit to go down.

Besides, I ... don't agree with the Japanese Empire example. They went overboard and conquered a bunch of countries in Asia (something that some of my older Korean relatives are still salty as fuck about). No one in those countries was happy about it, and Japan eventually lost all those conquered territories when they lost the war. THAT was less than 100 years ago and still was pretty "modern", and I count that as an Empire falling apart. The British Empire also, one way or another, is no longer what they used to be. If it still even exists as an "Empire". Yugoslavia is also a thing that existed probably early on in my lifetime, and no longer does. And Sudan split into two in 2008. And the Middle East is still a dumpster fire of a region. There are definitely more examples of countries trying to rip themselves apart.

Even if "inevitable" isn't the right word, I don't think the one example of the Hapsburgs is enough to counter pretty much every other example. Not to mention ... it still doesn't exist anymore. Whether it was because of WWII or not, it did eventually come down.

But Japan the country still exists. They expanded... and lost, but the country itself endures. Great Britain is the same. They expanded after uniting the isle... and then lost most of it, but the country of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland still exist. South Sudan broke of, but Sudan itself is still the same government. It didn't split into two countries as much a piece broke off from the whole.

For a FE example, you have Begnion. Gallia, Crimea, and Daein broke off from it, but Begnion continued to exist as a continuous body of government.

The Habsburg example was more a counter to your claim of it only taking decades. Since the Habsburg kept their realm together for centuries.

[Sunwoo]

7 minutes ago, Acacia Sgt said:

But Japan the country still exists. They expanded... and lost, but the country itself endures. Great Britain is the same. They expanded after uniting the isle... and then lost most of it, but the country of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland still exist. South Sudan broke of, but Sudan itself is still the same government. It didn't split into two countries as much a piece broke off from the whole.

For a FE example, you have Begnion. Gallia, Crimea, and Daein broke off from it, but Begnion continued to exist as a continuous body of government.

The Habsburg example was more a counter to your claim of it only taking decades. Since the Habsburg kept their realm together for centuries.

I think we're on different pages regarding this topic. Sure, Japan exists, but not in the same form as its WWII Empire days. The UK still exists, yes, but not in Empire form. I'd still count "a piece breaking off from the whole" as a split. During the U.S. Civil War, when the Confederacy split off from the Union, the United States still technically existed. It didn't cease to exist even with the Southern states gone. But I would consider it the end of the original "United" States and the beginning of a new "United States".

Likewise, I would consider unified Fodlan as having "fallen apart" if just the former Empire territory decided to successfully declare independence and leave. Even if the Kingdom and Alliance territories stayed and were fine with it and "unified Fodlan" still exists for the most part, the original idea of unifying the entire continent has still come to an end.

EDIT: Also, while I do agree I said that most empires or conquered regions tend to fall apart not long after the original rulers' deaths, the "it's not always immediate, but a matter of time" is meant to cover my butt to any counters that took much longer to fall apart, as long as they eventually did.

Edited July 31, 2021 by Sunwoo

[Acacia Sgt]

My point was more that "the many individual realms that united into what is now Japan back in 1592 are still united to this day". After WWII you didn't had the home islands fragment back to pieces. They remained united. Governments can change, but the country itself endure. Likewise England, Scotland, Wales, and a piece of Ireland are still united into one general government, no matter what happened to the rest.

Same for the ACW example. Old or New, it'd still be the "United States". Although, considering the attitudes of those days, even the Confederate States would consider themselves The United States of America.

Ultimately, my argument was more in line of "don't take any outcome for granted", history is yet to be written.

Edited July 31, 2021 by Acacia Sgt

[Jotari]

How successful Edelgard's new world order will be will depend extremely heavily one two major factors. How well it actually works in practices (which the cynic in me would say not all that well, it's incredibly idealistic and not catered to a people who are truly ready for it, we can't even get a fully functioning meritocracy in action today's world where we have far more enlightened ideas about equality between classes), and more importantly, how capable her successor is. Even if Edelgard manages to usher in a prosperous era of economic strength and social liberation, it's going to come crashing down hard if she dies without a clear successor, which the old system of monarchy guarantees. Though we know from her ending that she does retire while still alive, so ambiguous leadership isn't an issue on that immediate front (though it would be for every successive government without some kind of vice president set up in place), but her being alive while her successor is in charge would actually do a lot to undermine her successor, as they'd never have any real power while Edelgard is alive. And as soon as Edelgard is dead, someone could see it fit to grab power for themselves in a coup, that's how Edelgard managed to gain control of the continent in the end, so she inadvertently legitimatized is as permissible in her world order. For her system to stay in place she'd need an Octavian to her Caesar, someone with just as much charisma and strength as she had that can keep the whole shebang together. The Roman empire is the closest premodern set up to what I can think of for what Edelgard was trying to build, it wasn't technically a monarchy because the Romans really hated monarchies, but it ended up becoming one because the only way to guarantee the safety of one's child was to make them emperor. Because if they weren't, then they'd be assassinated by the next emperor as a way to consolidate power. In the end there was lot's of fracturing and back stabbing, of course alternatively despite it's major fuck ups, the Roman empire still managed to become one of the most renowned empires in history, so maybe Edelgard's new world stands a chance. She definitely needs to pick a very capable successor though (and said successor having some military victories to win would certainly help).

3 minutes ago, Acacia Sgt said:

My point was more that "the many individual realms that united into what is now Japan back in 1592 are still united to this day". After WWII you didn't had the island fragment back to pieces. They remained united. Governments can change, but the country itself endure. Likewise England, Scotland, Wales, and a piece of Ireland are still united into one general government, no matter what happened to the rest.

Same for the ACW example. Old or New, it'd still be the "United States". Although, considering the attitudes of those days, even the Confederate States would consider themselves The United States of America.

Ultimately, my argument was more in line of "don't take any outcome for granted", history is yet to be written.

I'm not sure modern examples are the best to go by. How we treat sovereignty and conquest is very different now compared to the premodern period. If World War II had happened a century earlier than Japan likely would have become a colony of America after the end of the war. The globalized structure of things has changed how these things are approached considerably. The major nations we have now could well exist for centuries to come if the current system holds, not by virtue of anything a modern nation does, but just by virtue of existing at a time where eradicating a state is not a standard norm (of course another way of looking at it is that we are slowly merging into supra continental unions that can slowly degrade sovereignty until such things as individual countries cease to exist as concepts and the world becomes a series of power blocks, which in themselves might eventually unite). Just in general the modern world is really weird and different compared to most of history and we really have no clue how it's going to pan out. And consider Fire Emblem's society is much closer to premodern sociery, I think premodern comparisons are make much  more sense.

Edited July 31, 2021 by Jotari

[Acacia Sgt]

Oh, forgot to add. Your example of Adrestia breaking off from united Fodlan... would be like Ireland breaking of the UK. The UK is still around, despite most of Ireland being independent.

[Sunwoo]

2 minutes ago, Acacia Sgt said:

Oh, forgot to add. Your example of Adrestia breaking off from united Fodlan... would be like Ireland breaking of the UK. The UK is still around, despite most of Ireland being independent.

Yeah, and like I said earlier I'd still consider it as "breaking apart", since while the UK would still exist it's not in the same form.

[Venger_06]

2 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

Also, Claude is every bit as much of an extremist shit as Edelgard was, stealing her empire from her and thus getting all of the power with none of the bad PR.

Relevant:

[Jotari]

2 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

Crimson Flower, as a first path, confused me beyond reason and felt like it skipped half its chapters in terms of both length and explaining what the fuck was going on. I was I was alternately baffled by the story, bored by the monastery, and reduced to a babbling, paranoid wreck by the gameplay.

The biggest takeaway I have from Verdant Wind and Silver Snow is that I became convinced even Rhea's "real" story about the elites was a near total lie, because I just do not trust a single word that woman says and the story would be infinitely more compelling if she were lying. Also, Claude is every bit as much of an extremist shit as Edelgard was, stealing her empire from her and thus getting all of the power with none of the bad PR.

Actually for that matter it infuriates me that two of the four endings have Byleth as the literal God-Emperor of Fodlan like that's a happy ending that could possibly end well.

I could probably go on further but I really don't want to text for five hours. I'll mention stuff about the other routes if I'm reminded.

We really have nothing to indicate that Claude had any plans to unify the continent through violent conquest though. It doesn't seem like the Alliance has nearly enough unity for that ever to be a realistic option. Of course that leaves an open question as to what he actually was planning and how he could do it via diplomacy. I've always said that trying to marry Edelgard was the obvious tactic for him, but sadly White Clouds pretending any lord who's not your own doesn't exist leaves moments of Claude trying to flirt with Edelgard almost non existent. The most realistic thing Claude would have done given all he actually sets himself up for in the game would probably have been reducing connections to the church by breaking open Fodlan's locket and trading with Almyra, hoping that it would be successful enough that the continent would be unified under his ideology, rather than being unified politically.

Edited July 31, 2021 by Jotari

[Acacia Sgt]

12 minutes ago, Jotari said:

I'm not sure modern examples are the best to go by. How we treat sovereignty and conquest is very different now compared to the premodern period. If World War II had happened a century earlier than Japan likely would have become a colony of America after the end of World War II.

Eh, a hundred years ago from WWII the US didn't even had a Pacific coastline yet. Plus, they wouldn't be able to conquer Japan.

But I get what you mean. As it were, the US doesn't really have a track record on that in that era. The earliest examples would be Cuba and the Philippines, neither which were fragmented after gaining independence. They remained whole.

7 minutes ago, Sunwoo said:

Yeah, and like I said earlier I'd still consider it as "breaking apart", since while the UK would still exist it's not in the same form.

It still means the project of a united Fodlan wouldn't be a complete failure. Same for the UK. Maybe if we were to see Scotland breaking off and independent Irish reunification in the near of far future, but for now, the UK remains an enduring union that has lasted for centuries now.

As it is, it wouldn't be the entirety of Adrestia breaking off anyway. More likely it'd be another Ireland-NorthIreland situation. Parts of Adrestia choosing to remain in united Fodlan.

Edited July 31, 2021 by Acacia Sgt