Which Route is your Favourite so far?

[Holla99]

Now that the game has been out almost two months most of us should have gotten a chance to play a couple of routes by now. So which ones have you completed and which one do you like the most? If you'd like to include some reasoning that includes spoilers please use spoiler tags, as not everyone has seen all the routes yet.

I've played through all routes other than Golden Deer that I'm just starting now. I liked Blue Lions the best so far thanks to Dimitri's character growth, but I might end up liking the Golden Deer more once I finish it. Only time will tell.

As for the Black Eagles:

Spoiler

I liked Edelgard's route for being a total different take on the story as she's more of an anti-hero, but I didn't like how short and rushed it felt. The Chruch route was ok, but I mainly only liked it as it helped explain Byleth's backstory more than the other routes.

 

[Johnzin]

I have played all 4 on hard mode (BL > E!BE > GD > Church in order I played). Storywise I liked playing GD more, getting an outsider perspective even though some parts of it doesnt make sense such as keeping face of the Alliance being neutral for a few chapters while leader of the Alliance is part of an attacking force against the Empire. 

GD > Church > BL / E!BE

Church also gave a good amount of background even though a lot of overlapping storyline and they infiltrated Fort Merceus with costumes but it was stated by Cluade on GD.... It gave more information to me why the story was happening. Even though I played BL first and I love that house characters much more than any other house, their story to me left me so many questions about Duscur, Dimitris/Edel mom, final Boss Edel. TWSTD wasnt even apparent to my first playthrough. Why did they cause bloodshed for Edel? 

E!BE directly after BL, there could be more with TWSTD. I wish the fleshed out throughout more chapters about Edel relationship with Dimitri too

[Gregster101]

So far I've only played the Golden Deers route and the Blue Lions route. I enjoy both routes quite a lot, though I do slightly prefer the Blue Lions route if only for Dimitri's character development as well as going into the relationship between him and Edelgard, which the Golden Deers route never really answered. The Golden Deers route does have the edge of going into the actual backstory of the continent though. As for the Black Eagles and Church of Seiros routes, I'll wait til I actually play through them before I give an opinion

[EricaofRenais]

I have played all routes and BLs is by far my favorite because I really enjoy Dimitri's development and and he has become my favorite lord in the series.

[daisy jane]

Blue Lions is my favourite. I think it's deeper, more emotional and more growth (for like everyone) than any other series. 
But for sheer fun? Golden Deer every day of the week. (Claude helps that). I'm playing BE (again) and already i'm like... I miss the Golden Deer ease. (which is ironic because i re-played GD because i needed to get the BE icky out of my system)

[Yexin]

blue lions hand down

[Rose482]

Blue Lions for me as well <3 

[GrassEater]

if every route had blue lions quality 3 houses would be an easy 10/10

BL is just that good

 

[timon]

Story wise Edelgard's hands down, the only one that feels right to me tbh, even though it's rushed and it needs to be completed. Gameplay is fun and different from the other, but it is shorter (which to be fair, also means the end chapters are a lot harder, since you don't get to snowball as hard). Fhirdiad on fire might be my favourite map of the game.

Gameplay wise probably overall GD? It's the one of which I recall the most fun maps. Story wise I also like how Claude seeks out the information, I feel like I'd do the same in the monastery situation, I really can't understand how everyone just lives by without ever worrying about how everything works. It goes a bit downhill when he starts going "power of friendship end racism", which is obviously very noble, but a tad boring.

BL is my least favourite story wise, I just find it boring, and there are some things that straight up don't make sense. Gameplay was... unremarkable I guess? I can't remember many big gameplay moments, so I guess there just weren't many.

Church is story-wise basically a spinoff that should've been clarified in every route (why do I have to play a specific route to know my origin? I'm the goddamn protagonist!). It's also the weakest since BE characters aren't exactly invested at all. Gameplay wise it's just GD, which is good in itself, but not so good if you already played it. Seteth is a nice character, but I'm not sure he's in his place as "path leader", should've just kept Rhea around and made her playable.

Edited September 16, 2019 by timon

[Zihark11]

They all have there pros and cons and since you can recruit students outside of house not one route stands out to me as better then the others. I love the Blue lions characters so if i had to choose probably them? 

 

[Boomhauer007]

GD > BE!E > BL >>>>>>Church

GD: Pretty good maps, best final map concept (even if the actual boss is a bit random). I cannot overstate how nice it is to have a Lord that isn't an idiot. Gets cheesy at the end (guys we defeated racism) but man was it nice to have a guy who made good decisions.

BE!E was the neatest concept they've had, the actual execution holds it back a bit. Why have it shorter? Why are we some dumb strike force instead of just the imperial army? I don't really care about those two random generals, why do you think I do, game? But it was cool to play with conquest was supposed to be and unapologetically conquer everything.

I've never figured out the BL story love. We spend half the game following a heinously mentally unstable guy because "thems the rules and he's the king". Imagine telling an actual army that they're going to march back and forth across a continent  multiple times because that guy said so. Only Felix calls him out the entire time, and largely in a way that doesn't accomplish anything. Edelgard going hegemon felt extremely out of character. I will say their part 1 is a lot more meaningful.

I have like a 100 post topic here somewhere about my feelings on the church route, and it isn't good.

Edited September 16, 2019 by Boomhauer007

[Dylan Corona]

I know I'm in the minority here, but I like the Church route the best. To me it has more emotion, and makes the most sense. I know it's very close to GD, but what's different I just like a tiny bit more. It give an all around more ending feel, and that final map pulled at my heart strings big time. Sure, it was missing a few things, but over all it felt refreshing to play with no "lord" if you will. It felt different. Plus I feel like we learn a lot more in it.

[Ivan Tridelan]

8 minutes ago, Boomhauer007 said:

GD > BE!E > BL >>>>>>Church

GD: Pretty good maps, best final map concept (even if the actual boss is a bit random). I cannot overstate how nice it is to have a Lord that isn't an idiot. Gets cheesy at the end (guys we defeated racism) but man was it nice to have a guy who made good decisions.

BE!E was the neatest concept they've had, the actual execution holds it back a bit. Why have it shorter? Why are we some dumb strike force instead of just the imperial army? I don't really care about those two random generals, why do you think I do, game? But it was cool to play with conquest was supposed to be and unapologetically conquer everything.

I've never figured out the BL story love. We spend half the game following a heinously mentally unstable guy because "thems the rules and he's the king". Imagine telling an actual army that they're going to march back and forth across a continent  multiple times because that guy said so. Only Felix calls him out the entire time, and largely in a way that doesn't accomplish anything. Edelgard going hegemon felt extremely out of character. I will say their part 1 is a lot more meaningful.

I have like a 100 post topic here somewhere about my feelings on the church route, and it isn't good.

Your thoughts on BL mirror my own. The first half of AM Dmitri is an unstable emo murder-hobo and we follow him anyways cuz he's meant to be king. Shamir actually comments after Gronder Field that "we just marched all the way down into the Empire and now we're marching back to the Kingdom? For real? Leaders gotta get their heads on straight" (obviously not exact wording). People like to talk about character development, but it really only focuses on Dmitri and his relationship to Edelgard. His intervention moment is somewhat plausible, but too extreme a change for me to swallow (after the sacrifice, he basically never mentions the haunting spirits thing), and his relationship to Rodrigue is largely unexplored backstory (Rodrigue basically raised him, yet the time he spent with Edelgard is more important, never mind we only see a fragment of that)

GD was great in Claude wanting answers, where Edelgard believes she already has them and Dmitri doesn't care.

Church I'm doing now, but from what I've read it's basically GD with more focus on Byleth instead of Fodlan's true history? The BE students don't seem very involved, though there was a scene after Randolph attacks the monastery.

CF is my favorite, though I feel we should have struck down Shambala after Arianrhod was leveled (in GD Hubert finds its location after they level Fort Merceus), as Edelgard decides that TWS have become too dangerous to leave in power. Probably do Tailtean Plains fight first, leaving the Church reeling and the Kingdom army in tatters, she can do a quick but brutal crusade against the newly discovered Shambala, knowing Rhea is going to fall back to Fhirdiad and regroup what's left of her forces (have the Imperial Army monitor her while El takes the BE strike force against TWS). Rhea being the final boss makes too much sense and was too epic a fight and cutscene to not have it be the final map.

 

End Conclusion: CF > VW >>> SS >>>>> AM

[daisy jane]

I'll articulate why I love the Blue Lions so much. 

 

For the first half of the story - the majority of the problems are coming out of the Kingdom, and here you are the professor of the future king who desires to bring peace and stability to his broken kingdom - but can't because he's too young. so he feels incredibly powerless and weak but wants to do all he can so he can prepare to be a better king and stop this madness. On top of this, he's suffering from severe PTSD and survivor's guilt from a tragic massacre that he alone survived (and being haunted by their ghosts). The girl he has a soft tendre for and he knows as his sister is working with the people who is responsible for all of that. (and regardless of what she says - the fact that she's willing to work with these people instead of stamping them out isn't palatable). This betrayal fractures the slender grasp he has on his sanity and he feels like the only way to get any sort of peace - is to end the person responsible. 

Five years later, more deaths, betrayal and loss of his two touch stones (Byleth + Dedue). basically has Dimitri on one path. a Murderous suicide mission. he will take out as many people as he can, before he meets his death. that's why with Fleche at Grounder - he really doesn't do anything - he accepts that it's his end, he wants to die, he wants the peace of of it all. I find that's why Rodrigue's death hits home. He (Rodrigue) dies so that Dimitri can live and achieve the dream that everyone in blue lions has - to restore the Kingdom and bring peace for those w/crests and no crests, weak and what not alike. 

and I feel that's why they felt compelled to trapise all over Fodlan. No it doesn't make sense. everyone says so. But Dimitri is determined to do it, and they are with him so he doesn't suicide himself (ironically which is what he is okay with happening at Gronder.) so yeah the argument of "why not Finish off Edelgard since we're in the Empire." does beg sense but the symbolism of Dimitri being this close to what he dreamed of (revenge/death/destruction/"peace") for the first time in ten years - over what he ultimately (and boylishly ten years ago) wanted to do. save his Kingdom. be the king that they deserve. bring the real peace about.

and now i am sniffly...

[Wuzzy]

For me GD > BL >> CF > SS

I like Golden Deer because it feels like the right ending. You deal with Nemesis, unify Fodlan, and Claude does his own thing in Almyra which allows Fodlan to have an Alliance with the country. It also opens up Fodlan for people to go in and out of the country as well. Gameplay is pretty good overall and has my favorite final map of the 4 routes. GD cast overall is pretty solid, especially Claude since he's the most consistent and sane of the 3 lords. You also get to know the most about Fodlan and a bit of Rhea's backstory. Only gripe is that using the resistance army flag was the most random thing ever.

BL follows because I like Dimitri and his character development is pretty good. Gameplay is pretty decent but makes no sense with all the back and forth, and with Rodrigue's death. You get to see more about Dimitri and Edelgard and what their goals are which was pretty nice. Ending is aight, not my favorite overall.

CF since it was rushed and I found it pretty boring overall. You go from Deirdru, conquer it, go to the Kingdom, beat Dimitri, then you beat Rhea to finally conquer the Kingdom. Not much else exciting other than you get to play as the "villain" in a very typical conquest. Gameplay is unique but, just because it's unique doesn't mean I'll like it. Least favorite ending overall, meritocracy is cool and all until you realize who gets to decide who has good merit, and it's probably going to be a handful of people that decide that.

SS is just a watered down GD focusing on Rhea's backstory instead of Fodlan in general. Nice to have more screen time for Seteth and Flayn but, the BE students seem lost without Edelgard around.

Edited September 16, 2019 by Lunarly

[Landmaster]

Blue Lions pretty easily. Dimitri's character arc was way over and beyond what I expected going in and he is defs my favorite Lord in the franchise now. Absolutely love him~ The whole route being so character driven much more than the others makes it stand out a lot.

2nd fave would be GD. Not as character driven but definitely really fun~

[Kiran_]

Tough question. I think Crimson Flower is my favorite, simply because I agree with Edelgard's ideals and it's the route that felt like what I would do.

But, I have such a soft spot for the Blue Lions, because I love Dimitri and the entire cast is so well developed. So this would be second, purely because of that.

Golden Deer I think has the potential to be 1st, but the cast of characters didn't really resonate with me aside from Claude and Hilda. Claude's curiosity and desire to learn more is what kept me on the route, but honestly the Church worship was so overbearing in that route, because Byleth kept asking about Rhea the entire timeskip portion, and it was super annoying, because Claude wasn't even religious and I wanted a route that fought the true villains/exposed the church/didn't do a violent bloodshed route like Edelgard.

The Church route I just hate.

[Okigen]

This is unpopular opinion but GD is my least favourite route - maybe Church as well, but I haven't played it yet.  Claude is nowhere as emotionally invested in the war as Edelgard and Dimitri, and it is difficult to resonate with his ideals when we don't have much background on the land he keeps talking about. In the final chapters if you walk around the castle the NPCs literally say something like "Wait, is there still more? When is it going to end?" 🙁I think it's a bit of a wasted potential because GD is the most down-to-earth house, so I had hoped that it would focus more on the sufferings of the common folks for the "faith, hope and dreams" of the nobles, but it didn't unfortunately.

So far my favourite is BL, mainly because I find Dimitri a more interesting character than Edelgard.

[nocturnal YL]

Blue Lions so far, because it feels more Fire Emblem-y. I've yet to play Golden Deer or Church, though.

[Dark Holy Elf]

Tough call between Azure Moon and Crimson Flower, but I lean towards the former a bit. Dimitri's characterization is nothing short of outstanding and following him, and the reactions of his allies to him, through his journey makes for a compelling story. He also has an excellent antagonist and a super-satisfying conflict with her; the scene in which they meet before Enbarr, and the oath of the dagger ending, are two of my favourites.

Crimson Flower has a beautiful ending offers lots of opportunities to watch Edelgard's characterization and see more of the full picture of who she is (and not just the mask she presents), which is great. And the power structures of Fodlan squick me out, so it's nice to have a route about pulling them down.

The other two routes lag pretty far behind. Verdant Winds has Claude, whom I greatly enjoy, but its plot/themes are a bit muddled. "End racism!" he says as the game simultaneously explains why this one particular race objectively deserves racism, and look to prove it we'll have the final boss be some Pure Evil Zombie General they summon (rather than the outstandingly nuanced Rhea and Edelgard of the other two routes). Who also comes out of nowhere.

I'm not sure what the point of Silver Snow is. It's VW without VW's best attribute.

[iavasechui]

Golden deer so far but I haven’t done church or Black Eagles yet. I’m on BE monastery right now... probably going to have a save right before the choice to avoid replaying the first part

[axlorg89]

Currently playing church, but I've completed the main 3 so far. I played in order of GD>BL>BE:E>Church

GD>>BL>>>BE:E

Golden Deer was a ton of fun. The cast was amazing with great chemistry, Claude is literally the best lord and asks all the questions, plus God Shattering Star. Well, it's moreso the maps were dynamic and fun, plus we get more story background. I have my faults on what it "could have" been since I wish it took a more personal take with itself instead of being Church Strawberry DIet, but otherwise will play on Maddening.

Blue Lions had the most emotionally satisfying story to me. While Dimitri's character was great, I wasn't too attached to him until we got to his change, which felt a bit too fast in my opinion. Other than Dimitri, I heavily enjoyed the cast (about almost as same as GD). I wish more story elements were explored more, like the Tragedy of Duscur, but emotionally? It was great since almost every character was involved in the main plot in some way. Plus the biggest bonus was definitely Edelgard. Some people said this route made them hate her, but I found her sympathetic without knowing her motivations yet. Showed some light on who Edelgard once was and the two main lords relationship with each other.

Black Eagles. While I definitely enjoy the cast, I don't really feel a camaradiere between them as tight as the other houses. As for Edelgard herself, she fluctuated on me from "Oooh, I see." to "Really?" Mainly in regards to her support and some logic in regards to the war. I admit full bias to not enjoying killing my former students of the two houses prior. The execution of it wasn't really good, but it tries. If anything the ending cutscene is epic.

[NobodiePichu]

BL>GD>SS>CF

azure moon stands out for me not only because it does a good job in shaping believable characters who well sympathetic still need to get their heads on straight, but also because of its subtle but nonetheless present meta story commentary on fire emblem stories and tropes. its not something that one needs to notice nor is it overly strong but it also avoids being obnoxiously pleased with itself and serves to make the story stronger. the only big problem i have with it is that it could have stood to have some more room to allow stronger organic story telling but it works. not my favorite of the lot but it works.

verdant wind are interesting because it has a lot of threads i find fascinating but it more often then not leaves them hanging and focuses more so on lore aspects that didnt fit into the narratives of the other routes. ultimately its the most superfluous that probably could have been cut and the resources spent on it distributed to the other stories with the game overall being healthier for it in narrative terms.

silver snow may be rather half assed but it does have its narrative importance if only in the 'will you side with edelgard or not' way and if the verdant wind route was removed it would benefit the most from it both due to less repetition and from more resources to better iron it out. still this probably would have been the bottom if it wasnt for crimson flower

if the azure moon is the games writing at its best, verdant wind a good batting average if pointless, and silver snow its laziest then crimson flower is it at its worse. not so much out of laziness mind but more so out of bad choices for its writing. what should have been an arvis type situation that eventually saw its epitomes character come to realize they fucked up and seek to change their ways and salvage what they could as repentance, or what should have been the evil empire wins route instead is an odd mishmash of the two where the evil empire wins but everything is lovely forever despite common sense contradicting that because its villain protagonist was very sad well she trampled over the lives of hundreds of thousands and either committed or tacitly approved by her silence dozens of war crimes in pursuit of minor tactical gains. not helped by information in the other routes essentially proving her entire basis of beliefs... well wrong. nemesis was no mistreated hero, crests and the systems associated with them were not invented by rhea to control humans but by humans for more power, and rhea has soft power over the other nations at best. which is a shame because there was a great villain protagonist buried in here, but it was buried probably because people would have called edelgard a bitch otherwise and not wanted to marry warcrimes mcgrime.