Jump to content

Who You Think Would Make a Great Lead Writer for an FE Game


vanguard333
 Share

Recommended Posts

If you could bring in one great writer you know about to Intelligent Systems and have that writer become the lead writer for a Fire Emblem game, who would it be? 

Note: it doesn't have to be a video game writer (though it can be); it could also be a novelist, film/TV writer, etc. It also doesn't have to be a writer that you think, realistically, would ever get involved in writing a Fire Emblem game. My only rules for this are: 1) the writer must still be alive (J. R. R. Tolkien, Homer, etc. are not allowed), and 2) even if you are an experienced writer, you can't answer, "Me"; there's already another thread for how you would write a Fire Emblem plot. 

 

Here's my choice:

Writer: Hiromu Arakawa; most well-known for being the writer and illustrator for the Fullmetal Alchemist manga. 

One reason that I have for this is that a lot of typical plot points in FE are things that she has shown to be able to write and write very well, going by her most notable work:

Spoiler
  • A story that juggles a lot of different characters
  • A strong theme of "war is terrible"
  • A large-scale conflict and big final battle
  • An ancient conspiracy involving human co-conspirators and a non-human final boss
  • An evil ruler villain that is a very tough opponent to fight and defeat
  • A young protagonist who has gone through a relatively hard life and understands the value of family
  • Having both a hard magic system (tomes/alchemy) and a soft magic system (dragons and goddesses/Truth)

 

The other  reason that I think she would be great for Fire Emblem is that, in my opinion, a lot of FE games in recent years have had great concepts, but the refinement and the execution of those concepts have been less-than-great. Interesting stories, characters and magic systems in a story that relies a bit too much on contrivances and doesn't really explore everything it introduces to its full potential. incidentally, it's a similar problem I had with the anime Code Geass that I tried recently that led me to stop watching the show near the end of season 1 despite overall enjoying it up until that point. That, and (spoilers)

Spoiler

Lelouch accidentally using his geass on Princess Euphemia has to be the stupidest scene I have ever seen, and I have seen a lot of stupid scenes, especially in recent years. 

One thing I loved about Path of Radiance was how refined it was; all the character interactions and story events were well-thought-through and the attention to detail was above anything I've seen since in FE (though I haven't even come close to finishing Three Houses yet, so I have no idea how it compares to PoR in that area). I think Arakawa would be great for FE because, from what I've seen of her work, she does get the details right. The attention to detail in Fullmetal Alchemist is frankly above any other piece of media that I've seen/read/played, and I think it would be great to see that level of detail in an FE game. 

Frankly, I would just love if, in terms of writing quality and storytelling strengths, FE was a little less Code Geass and a little more Fullmetal Alchemist. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well this is more a pipe dream rather than anything serious but I would love an FE story written by Masashi Kishimoto(mangaka behind Naruto) or Gen Urobuchi(writer behind Madoka Magica and Fate/Zero). The former because I think his writing style would fit FE well cause his stories tackle similar ideas and themes. The latter because if you want a dark FE story he’s the guy you should talk to. His take on an FE story will rip out your soul and continuously beat it against a wall until you’re left feeling nothing but emptiness and existential dread on the inside. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

nisioisin (medaka box, monogatari series) or yoko taro (drakengard, nier, nier automata) would definitely be my top choices

Edited by Yexin
Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, Yexin said:

yoko taro (drakengard, nier, nier automata)

Oh Yoko Taro would be a good one. Another one I would like to see(as shocking as it may be to some) would be Hiro Mashima and before you get out the pitchforks hear me out. One of the quintessential elements of any FE game are the character interactions via supports as well as the romance that can blossom between them. If there's one thing Mashima is good at is writing fun and interesting character interaction and romance. He may be a hack in every other regard when it comes to storytelling but he's good at building character relationships at least anyway.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, NobodiePichu said:

definitely a pipe dream but hirohiko araki. for only the most fabulous of bizarre emblems.

2 hours ago, Armagon said:

I'll also echo Hirohiko Araki.

Just wondering; who is he? What's he notable for?

By the context, I'm going to guess an anime/manga writer. For what; I have no idea. I've only ever seen five anime: One-Punch Man (loved it), Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (loved it), Violet Evergarden (I cried a lot because of that show), Ganblue Fantasy: the Animation (I enjoyed it enough), and Code Geass (I was really enjoying that one until the writing completely fell apart late in season 1). I'm not an anime/manga guy. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

27 minutes ago, vanguard333 said:

Just wondering; who is he? What's he notable for?

By the context, I'm going to guess an anime/manga writer. For what; I have no idea. I've only ever seen five anime: One-Punch Man (loved it), Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (loved it), Violet Evergarden (I cried a lot because of that show), Ganblue Fantasy: the Animation (I enjoyed it enough), and Code Geass (I was really enjoying that one until the writing completely fell apart late in season 1). I'm not an anime/manga guy. 

 To my knowledge araki is the mangaka behind jojo bizarre adventures

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, Ottservia said:

 To my knowledge araki is the mangaka behind jojo bizarre adventures

Ah; that makes sense. I've heard the name "Jojo Bizarre Adventures" before, but I know nothing about it. That would explain why I've never heard the name. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, vanguard333 said:

Ah; that makes sense. I've heard the name "Jojo Bizarre Adventures" before, but I know nothing about it. That would explain why I've never heard the name. 

id personally recommend it despite the copious amounts of gruesome animal death (ie, more then 1) as its flashy, fun, silly and dramatic, and it can be rather smart for a shonen action series. also posing.

Image result for jojo posing

its divided into 8 parts currently, 5 of which have been animated. parts 1 and 2 are good but rather divorced from the other parts so dont fret to much over skipping them if ya wanna. if you decide to watch it anyways.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 minutes ago, NobodiePichu said:

parts 1 and 2 are good but rather divorced from the other parts so dont fret to much over skipping them if ya wanna.

That's something i'd recommend against. Yeah Parts 1 and 2 are kinda their own thing (especially Part 2) but they still matter. I also just recommend against starting with Part 3 since while it's good, it can be a slog at times.

I feel like the only time it's good to skip Parts is if someone wants to start with Part 7, as that's the start of a different continuity. But in terms of the original timeline, go in order for the best experience. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, Armagon said:

That's something i'd recommend against. Yeah Parts 1 and 2 are kinda their own thing (especially Part 2) but they still matter. I also just recommend against starting with Part 3 since while it's good, it can be a slog at times.

I feel like the only time it's good to skip Parts is if someone wants to start with Part 7, as that's the start of a different continuity. But in terms of the original timeline, go in order for the best experience. 

i mean yeah, i agree that youll probably have a more rewarding experience if ya sit through 1 and 2 instead of skipping them, just that if ya need to skip a part, 1 and 2 i feel its easier to do so. part 1 especially so, its good but its overshadowed by the other parts in terms of quality and any essential information is reiterated in parts 2 forward.

lets not get into a debate about though and derail things i suppose, any way ya wanna watch it is fine for the most part.

nother pipe dream author for an fe game, tsugumi ohba.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Back to the topic at hand, i think Dave Filoni would be a pretty cool choice. He's the writer behind the masterpiece that is Star Wars: The Clone Wars (which also means he's the one who turned Darth Maul into an actual character).

Granted, he also wrote Star Wars Rebles, which was meh for the most part. But what's important is that he is very capable of good writing as shown with The Clone Wars.

Edited by Armagon
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Maybe not necessarily a writer, but I just want to use this thread as another excuse to say that I would love any Fire Emblem game directed by Masahiro Sakurai. The man has professed his love for the series before, and he's amazing at making games. Plus, his favorite game is (or, at least was last I heard) FE4, and I always love when elements of Genealogy show up in other games. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Armagon said:

Back to the topic at hand, i think Dave Filoni would be a pretty cool choice. He's the writer behind the masterpiece that is Star Wars: The Clone Wars (which also means he's the one who turned Darth Maul into an actual character).

Granted, he also wrote Star Wars Rebles, which was meh for the most part. But what's important is that he is very capable of good writing as shown with The Clone Wars.

I'm more of a fan of the original 2003 Clone Wars cartoon; mainly since it had a far better version of General Grievous. But I agree; Dave Filoni could probably write a pretty good FE game. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

JK Rowling maybe? I'd say Brian Jacques but he died. Redwall was great when I was a kid, and I can see his style working for a goofier FE game. George RR Martin should help with a Jugdral remake lol.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Dragoncat said:

JK Rowling maybe? 

For the characters, sure, but I wouldn't want her anywhere near the worldbuilding. I say this as someone who enjoys the Harry Potter books: don't think about the worldbuilding for more than a minute if you want to keep enjoying them. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, vanguard333 said:

For the characters, sure, but I wouldn't want her anywhere near the worldbuilding. I say this as someone who enjoys the Harry Potter books: don't think about the worldbuilding for more than a minute if you want to keep enjoying them. 

Is this about the "wizards used to poop on the floor and magic it away" thing? That was a tweet, not in the actual books. I never read the books or watched the movies, mainly because when they came out, my friend from a Christian family thought they were witchcraft and I disagreed with her but didn't want to push the issue.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, Dragoncat said:

Is this about the "wizards used to poop on the floor and magic it away" thing? That was a tweet, not in the actual books. I never read the books or watched the movies, mainly because when they came out, my friend from a Christian family thought they were witchcraft and I disagreed with her but didn't want to push the issue.

No (I don't even have Twitter); I'm just saying that the worldbuilding overall is rather lacking in all seven books and falls apart a bit. The characters are interesting and the stories are alright. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...