FE6 Actually Has Good Characters

[AnonymousSpeed]

A lot of people like to bash on the FE6 cast, but I honestly think its a lot stronger than the one in FE7, and it beats out quite a few other games as well.

Part of the reason most people don't care for its characters as much is probably because FE6 support conversation are even more obnoxiously tedious to access than other GBA conversations, it doesn't have paired endings, and quite frankly FE6 just isn't as popular as many other games.

That said, I think there's more than a couple of excellent FE6 characters, and I'd like to take some time today and justify my fondness for this cast with a few examples:

Gonzales- If any character from FE6 is actually well liked, it's probably Gonzales. He's like the one ugly guy you can actually recruit in the whole series, and the fact that someone who is ugly and stupid and has a history of bad choices can still turn his life around and fight for a good cause and have a good heart is very inspiring. I really like that Gonzales is someone who just needed a chance, and that a strong ally is found by giving him one.

Trec- There's like an entire reddit post dedicated to some guy's affinity for Trec. There's something endearing about how simple and stoic he is. He's kind of a stupid goof, sometimes his thoughts are funny, but not all of them. He has simple, wholesome desires- to be praised by Zealot is the best example, it's not a very exceptional sounding desire, but Trec isn't a very exceptional person. Though dull and a dreamer, there's wisdom in his ability to accept the world and its place in it as they are. It also adds to this sort of unremarkable tragedy about him. He doesn't expect to make great changes because he's not really great at things. Even his dreams don't dare aspire to any great selfish benefit.

Saul- It's easy to judge Saul as nothing more than the personality quirk on his sleeve- a lecherous priest who uses his position to attract women. Thing is, Saul isn't just some pervert. I think this is best shown in his Igrene support. Igrene is fairly attractive for anime girl standards, but Saul quickly shelves his philandering when he finds out she's an atheist. He tries desperately to evangelize to her- he's bad at it, but it's one of those scenes which shows that, for all his lechery and faults, Saul actually does care about his faith.

Yoder- Based on his Niime support, Yoder chooses forgiveness over vengeance whenever he can. Even when he is personally wronged, even when his own sister is killed, he refuses to break from the principles of his religion and mercy. I have respect for that. Some of you will probably side with Niime and call him weak for it- I disagree, but that's just more points in the favor of FE6.

[Von Ithipathachai]

If Binding Blade gets remade, these Support conversations need to be made easier to obtain.  Seriously.

[Fire Emblem Fan]

I'm not sure I'd say FE6's cast is, as a whole, better than 7's, or several others, but I definitely agree that the cast is underrated and that there's quite a few really good characters. Taking aside Roy and Lilina, you still have Lugh, Raigh, Fae, Yoder, Niime, Cecilia, Perceval, Douglas, Elffin, Melady, Zeiss, Igrene, Gonzalez, Klein, Thea, Noah, Trec, Astolfo, Dieck, Rutger, Clarine, Sue, Hugh...

[EricaofRenais]

FE 6 has some of my favorite characters in it, Elffin is my number one favorite FE character and I also really like Geese, Lilina, Milady, Perceval and Rutger.  I do hope if FE 6 is remade they make the supports easier to get and have it so you can do more then 5 support conversations per playthrough because supports being a pain to get and being restricted to only 5 conversations a go is annoying.

[eclipse]

BRB, ban!  😛

I think the issue with FE6 is that it defaulted to "tell" more than "show".  For example, we're told that Cecilia argued with the king in order to support Ostia.  I think said argument would've had more impact if the audience saw Cecilia rip the king a new one.

In terms of characters, it's one of the most diverse casts IMO.  It includes an old woman (as in, someone who could qualify for a senior citizen discount with her face, not a manakete), a girl that isn't conventionally attractive, recruitable bandits that aren't conventionally attractive, mothers, etc.  Most of these aren't common in RPGs as playable characters, and I think more of them need to exist.  Because of this type of diversity, it means supports are far more interesting.  Niime would definitely have much different insights than, say, Clarine.

[Interdimensional Observer]

18 hours ago, eclipse said:

In terms of characters, it's one of the most diverse casts IMO.  It includes an old woman (as in, someone who could qualify for a senior citizen discount with her face, not a manakete), a girl that isn't conventionally attractive, recruitable bandits that aren't conventionally attractive, mothers, etc.  Most of these aren't common in RPGs as playable characters, and I think more of them need to exist.

Niime remains the only playable old woman in FE to this day, and Juno I think deserves a word of praise too. FE6 is shonen-friendly, but it certainly doesn't try so hard to be youthful and sexy, the cast is very conservative in clothing.

So, yeah, I agree with your general point.

 

 

--

From what I can remember of FE6 characters, my thoughts:

1. Roy- Boring.
2. Marcus- Jagen.
3. Alan- Nothing special.
4. Lance- Has a hint of interest in what got said of him not being from Pherae, but I don't recall it being a lot.
5. Bors- He had sex only once in his life, and had his chastity rewarded with being able to handle the presence of the Holy Grail. Oh wait, wrong Bors, this one I forget.
6. Wolt- A pretty good update to Gordin, but no Rolf.
7. Elen- She works.
8. Merlinus- The worst advisor in any FE ever, but he works as a character in... FE7.
9. Dieck- An Ogma update handled well enough.
10. Wade- I forget, but I don't think at least one of them was bad.
11. Lott- I forget, but I don't think at least one of them was bad.
12. Shanna- Pretty ordinary.
13. Chad- Decent.
14. Lugh- A good child character.
15. Rutger- Not Zihark, but a better Navarre in character.
16. Clarine- Not fond of her personality, but she is okay overall.
17. Saul- He does have serious side to balance his philandering.
18. Dorothy- Can't remember.
19. Sue- Not bad.
20. Lilina- Caeda's successor is fine, even if I don't particularly like her.
21. Oujay- Fairly ordinary IIRC.
22. Gwendolyn- Second female armor, rather dull.
23. Barthe- Also sorta dull.
24. Astolfo- Good with Igrene at least.
25. Fir- Mareeta a second time, but not bad.
26. Sin- Can't recall, but at least they were inoffensive.
27. Zelot- He's fine.
28. Trec- It takes effort for me to remember who is who.
29. Noah- It takes effort for me to remember who is who.
30. Larum- Not into her.
31. Elffin- I like him.
32. Geese- I forget the details, but the contours aren't bad.
33. Gonzalez- A good gentle giant.
34. Klein- Nice guy.
35. Tate/Thite/Thea/Thaitea- Not bad, but nothing special.
36. Bartre- Dagdar in game with supports? IDK, but good.
37. Echidna- I like her character overall, including visually, but I felt her supports were repetitive?
38. Cath- Annoying to recruit, but she's okay.
39. Raigh- Likable.
40. Melady- Minerva's rebirth came out very nicely.
41. Perceval- He's fine.
42. Igrene- Great.
43. Cecilia- Pick a different chapter to join, but she is a good character.
44. Fae- Only the second Tiki, so she is fine.
45. Sophia- ...................................
46. Garret- He seems like he just doesn't belong in FE to me.
47. Zeiss- I forget, but he is a little brother to a Minerva, thats different.
48. Hugh- I like him.
49. Douglas- He works well enough.
50. Juno- Different, I like her, what a pity her bases don't exist.
51. Dayan- I like him.
52. Niime- Great.
53. Joder- Works well enough.
54. Karel- Archetypal, but unique to FE at this time at least.

 

Really, I don't see anyone I utterly loathe, other than FE6 Merlinus, though I do think Sophia is kinda bad b/c all the ellipses, but for the rest it's only forgettable, inoffensive or better. Binding doesn't have any real greats, but the first game to have support conversations did help it out.

 

For FE7, it's more like:

1. Lyn- Not bad, though I don't love her.
2. Eliwood- Better with a contrasting character, Fiora is mild-on-mild and thats bad. But Hector, Lyn, and even Marcus give him some color, as does certain narrative moments. Far better than his son.
3. Hector- Great lord, good character.
4. Sain- A one-note hopeless romantic, but he does get the girl in at least one support.
5. Kent- Straight-laced, but done well, particularly since his laces loosen with Lyn and Fiora.
6. Wil- An ordinary buddy kind of guy, outdone by Ranulf in this general department, but his Dart and Rebecca supports are good.
7. Florina- Not a character.
8. Serra- Not fond of her, other than how she gets to be later on in her Oswin, Hector, and Lucius supports.
9. Erk- I like him.
10. Lucius- I like him.
11. Matthew- I like him.
12. Rath- Stoic, though stoicism isn't inherently bad.
13. Nils- I really like him.
14. Ninian- Not a character, a trope.
15. Wallace- A zealous old man, eh.
16. Dorcas- Ordinary, but well written-ish actually.
17. Bartre- Baaaaaaad.
18. Marcus- Not bad, not great.
19. Lowen- Yeah, he tropey.
20. Rebecca- Alright.
21. Oswin- He is good.
22. Guy- Fairly ordinary.
23. Merlinus- Not always wrong, so he isn't bad here.
24. Priscilla- A fair maiden, not bad, but exactly great to me either.
25. Raven- Edgy, but his Rebecca is good.
26. Canas- Great.
27. Dart- A nice guy with good supports other than Karel I guess?
28. Fiora- She works.
29. Legault- Le'awesome.
30. Isadora- She works.
31. Heath- Works for me.
32. Hawkeye- I like him, though he doesn't get a lot.
33. Geitz- I like him.
34. Pent- Awesome.
35. Louise- Pretty, though not quite as good a character as her husband.
36. Karel- So much intentional contrast with his FE6 self, but a weak character in himself.
37. Harken- Nice backstory, but a little dull.
38. Farina- Post-Awakening Anna done well.
39. Nino- Not her biggest fan, but I can see why she so liked.
40. Jaffar- ...Edgy, a tad unrealistic, but saved through his bond with Nino.
41. Vaida- Different, if too abrasive outside of like Heath.
42. Karla- She is okay.
43. Renault- A character who exists to become liked through his supports.
44. Athos- Yay!

 

There are a few more outright duds, but overall, FE7 has more highs for me too. I'd say it's better, but such is me.

Edited December 23, 2019 by Interdimensional Observer

[Etrurian emperor]

Personally I find Binding blade's cast to be a bit below average. 

Its not bad per se. Actually Binding has some characters I really like. Niime is my favorite dark mage in the series, Lugh and Raigh among my favorite shota's and I see more value in Chad than most people. Lilina is cute, Dieck is one of the better Ogma's and I have a positive bias towards the Reglay siblings due to Pent.

But there are also a lot of characters I just absolutely find no reason to care about. Roy's starting squad for instance is one I consider to be uniquely weak within the series and a lot of other characters I just have problems really remembering any interesting traits about. 

For me the cast is very inconsistent with very few middle of the road characters. Either I really like the characters or they are extremely dull. Aside from Yodel I can't think of many people who I like but don't love. 

Edited December 23, 2019 by Etrurian emperor

[Dark Holy Elf]

I personally find Binding Blade's cast very weak overall. Roy and his immediate supporting cast (the starting group, Merlinus) are particularly dull. In fact I can't think of a PC who joins before Chapter 4 (Clarine) that I have any particular positive feelings for. I get the Alan/Lance support every playthrough and it puts me to sleep every time I try to watch it.

I have reasonable affection for some of the older characters you start picking up midgame (the Etrurian generals, Igrene, Astohl, Echidna) and I do agree that the game does a better job of representing older characters than many in the series. That said, no PC from this game would rank that highly for me compared to my favourites from Magvel, Tellius, Awakening, Fates, or Three Houses.

Zephiel is a pretty cool antagonist and is definitely the only character from the game I have a strong positive impression on, especially coming to this game as my second FE after Blazing Sword where the main villain was so weak.

[Shadow Mir]

Personally, I find this game's cast rather lacking. Most characters fail to stand out in any way that makes them memorable, especially Roy's starting squad. And it doesn't help matters that Zephiel is rather lackluster as a villain, with motivations I cannot buy into, especially considering his Gary Stu-esque portrayal in Blazing Blade.

[MasterJP28]

You mean the villains, right?

The main cast is kind of boring to me. I feel like the first interesting character recruited is Dorothy. It gets a little better in the Islands.

[Etrurian emperor]

Oh, so now villains are mentioned too? mmm...I wasn't a big fan of them in Binding Blade. I really like Narcian but he's about the only villain I like. 

Zephiel stands out as a villain who just doesn't work for me. He's not a pure youth corrupted by a harsh world but a drama lama who obsessively fixates on the only person in all of Elibe who doesn't like him. That person being his father matters a bit but not all that much given how extremely Zephiel lashes out about it. Aside from a mild racism problem regarding Sacae Elibe is likely one of the friendlier Fe worlds out there so Zephiel insisting its rotten to the core isn't very convincing. 

Murdock is....em nothing really. He looks imposing and his legacy of service is impressive but he's just the boss for a single chapter and a rather boring messenger to other generals. 

Brunya is fine but a discount Ishtar at best. 

Speaking of discount versions we have Roartz and Arcard. They are just Reptor and Langobald if they hadn't been powerful, threatening and competent. 

Now I like Idunn but its only because of her interactions with Lugh in Heroes. It was cute, but Binding Blade didn't make me feel a thing for her. 

[eclipse]

6 hours ago, Etrurian emperor said:

Zephiel stands out as a villain who just doesn't work for me. He's not a pure youth corrupted by a harsh world but a drama lama who obsessively fixates on the only person in all of Elibe who doesn't like him. That person being his father matters a bit but not all that much given how extremely Zephiel lashes out about it. Aside from a mild racism problem regarding Sacae Elibe is likely one of the friendlier Fe worlds out there so Zephiel insisting its rotten to the core isn't very convincing.

Child abuse fucks people up.  When it gets to the point that the parent attempts to kill said child, I can't imagine Zephiel coming out of it without some seriously twisted views.

[MasterJP28]

11 hours ago, Etrurian emperor said:

Murdock is....em nothing really. He looks imposing and his legacy of service is impressive but he's just the boss for a single chapter and a rather boring messenger to other generals. 

Brunya is fine but a discount Ishtar at best. 

Speaking of discount versions we have Roartz and Arcard. They are just Reptor and Langobald if they hadn't been powerful, threatening and competent. 

Now I like Idunn but its only because of her interactions with Lugh in Heroes. It was cute, but Binding Blade didn't make me feel a thing for her. 

My take on Zephiel is well explained by eclipse right above me, couldn't have said it better! Childhood trauma carries into adulthood.

If we talk about Jugdral discounts, then everyone in the series is just a discount of sorts. Gale is someone that had to grind to get to the top and stayed committed to the death, I'm a sucker for loyalty. Same with Murdock and Brunya. Yahn is also a character I liked. I guess I should've said the villains towards the end. Binding Blade is just kind of bland in general.

[Etrurian emperor]

44 minutes ago, MasterJP28 said:

If we talk about Jugdral discounts, then everyone in the series is just a discount of sorts.

I wouldn't say that. Sonia and Nino for example are very clearly based on Hilda and poor Tailtiu yet they stand on their own. More recently Edelgard is very likely based on Arvis but she too offers more than enough to avoid being a discount Arvis. 

What I mean with discount versions is that they pale in comparison. Reptor and Langobald were upstaged in the end but they were still Sigurd's main threat and were never depicted as incompetent. Roatz and Arcard on the other hand are clearly junior villains and incompetent cowards to boot. Brunya has more dignity than that but she doesn't have as much screentime as Ishtar and the fight against her can even be missed. And she's not as pretty as Ishtar. 

I guess it depends on how much unique stuff a member of an archetype brings to the table that decides if they are a discount version or not. Generally speaking most villains that take after Gharnef resemble each other far too much while those that take after Hardin/Rudolf have more variety between. Having some dignity also helps. Leptor and Langobald had it but their expies in Binding Blade really didn't. 

Edited December 25, 2019 by Etrurian emperor

[AnonymousSpeed]

On 12/22/2019 at 5:10 PM, Interdimensional Observer said:

Bors- He had sex only once in his life, and had his chastity rewarded with being able to handle the presence of the Holy Grail. Oh wait, wrong Bors, this one I forget.

This would, admittedly, make FE6 Bors a better character.

On 12/22/2019 at 5:10 PM, Interdimensional Observer said:

Echidna- I like her character overall, including visually, but I felt her supports were repetitive?

Yeah, Echidna is novel and there's a nugget of a good character in their, but every support she has is asking someone to build a village.
It makes something good for Gonzales, and I like that her Ward and Lott supports have the same event told from different perspectives (even if Lott's version is obviously more truthful), but that's the best she gets.

On 12/22/2019 at 5:10 PM, Interdimensional Observer said:

Garret- He seems like he just doesn't belong in FE to me.

I don't know, I think Garret is another strong outing. He's got more blood on his hands than Gonzales, so the "turn your life around" idea actually works a little better for him, and it's funny to have a Medieval fantasy character who assumes all panhandlers are lying to cheat you out of money.

On 12/22/2019 at 5:10 PM, Interdimensional Observer said:

Juno- Different, I like her, what a pity her bases don't exist.

Indeed, 18 speed is just pitiful. They could have at least had the decency to give her a good sword rank, that would have afforded her some niche.

That said, the relationship between her sisters and Zelot and her is very nice. The Tate-Zelot support in particular is very sweet.

***

On 12/23/2019 at 11:24 PM, MasterJP28 said:

You mean the villains, right?

Well, Narcian is pretty great, and I like that the game has Sacaean villains who aren't "sympathetic" villains- FE7 leans way heavily into Sacae as a land of "noble savages" and when "rude victim" is the worst the game wants you to see any of them, it's pretty obnoxious.

***

I do kind of like Zephiel, but not really as a stand-alone character. I think he works a lot better as foil for Roy.

Zephiel, the hereditary descendant of Hartmut, wields one of his two swords.

Roy, who shares Hartmut's capacity for mercy and is thus his ideological successor, wields the other.

One of the things I like about FE6 is how Roy doesn't get the weapon of his ancestral homeland. He gets the most powerful weapon despite not being from Bern, and that makes it feel more like something he earned by his strength of character than something he inherited.

[A Bard Named Wilhelm]

On 12/24/2019 at 10:10 AM, eclipse said:

Child abuse fucks people up.  When it gets to the point that the parent attempts to kill said child, I can't imagine Zephiel coming out of it without some seriously twisted views.

Yeah, to play off of this statement, you also can't evaluate the world through your own lens when trying to analyze evil characters, because their behavior, whether effective in practice or comically incompetent, is going to seem strange. Zephiel is a well written tyrant villain for the series, and usually the antagonistic nobles are poorly written. Alvis of Velthomer and Trabant the Thracian + his son are the only other examples that come to mind of really well written Noble antagonists in FE, and neither fills out the tyrant's archetype the way Zephiel does. Zephiel doesn't care about the thoughts and feelings of others, the only thing that matters are his mad ambitions. That may sound immature, illogical, and senseless, but the problem is that he has the power to kill scores of people, and he does. Getting this detailed insight into Zephiel's is really good for the game's story.

Conversely, we have a lot more poorly written aristocratic antagonists permeating the series, particularly in Radiant Dawn, which involved itself the most with nobility, among the titles I'm familiar with anyway.

 

Edited December 28, 2019 by A Bard Named Wilhelm
clarifying thoughts

[Harvey]

The problem with the cast in binding blade is that the supports are not deep but simply things like Ogier frightened of Lalum for no reason or Wolt simply getting advice from Alan to keep buffing up. Nothing about the supports intrigue me like in the levels of FE7 where Wallace's supports were top notch and deep.

The only times that the supports got deep is the times with LillinaxOgier, RutgerxDieck, Sophiax any of ther supports.

Major times, its just the cast bragging how amazing Roy is for being a lord so young. 

As for enemies, Zephiel is basically a ripoff of Hardin only done slightly different. 

[eclipse]

1 hour ago, Harvey said:

The problem with the cast in binding blade is that the supports are not deep but simply things like Ogier frightened of Lalum for no reason or Wolt simply getting advice from Alan to keep buffing up. Nothing about the supports intrigue me like in the levels of FE7 where Wallace's supports were top notch and deep.

The only times that the supports got deep is the times with LillinaxOgier, RutgerxDieck, Sophiax any of ther supports.

Major times, its just the cast bragging how amazing Roy is for being a lord so young. 

As for enemies, Zephiel is basically a ripoff of Hardin only done slightly different. 

I don't know how you can be so very wrong on so many things. . .

The thing about FE6 supports is that they are parts to a whole, and it's not as obvious as FE7.  Cecilia knows how to say things without explicitly telling them, if the situation calls for it (see; Saul).  Or, she can say them outright (see: Douglas).  Or even when to put a sock in it (see: Perceval).

Lastly, Zephiel and Hardin come from drastically different backgrounds, and have very different motives.  Both are tragic in their own right, but I think Zephiel requires a little more thought to process.

If you want simple characters and simple interactions, stick with Fates.

[Shadow Mir]

On 12/24/2019 at 1:10 PM, eclipse said:

Child abuse fucks people up.  When it gets to the point that the parent attempts to kill said child, I can't imagine Zephiel coming out of it without some seriously twisted views.

I can see where you're coming from with that, even if I still think Zephiel's a terrible, poorly written villain. I mean, he's hardly the only FE character who has a complete asshole for a father, but he's judging all of humanity over one person. That just does not do it for me, especially when compared to, say, Sephiran or the Little Queen (from Graces F), who also condemn humanity, but more for what humanity in general has done, and for over a longer scale. Hell, even Those Who Slither in the Dark are more legitimate as villains than he is.

[AnonymousSpeed]

8 hours ago, eclipse said:

I don't know how you can be so very wrong on so many things. . .

If you want simple characters and simple interactions, stick with Fates.

Seems a bit confrontational of a response towards someone for just liking different supports.

inb4 child psychologist comes in and discusses the validity of the impact of childhood trauma on Zephiel.

Honestly, a lot of people have talked about Rutger, but I don't like him that much. His supports are kind of "i am edgy man." That said, I do like his A support with Dieck because it's basically the only time the game mentions Bernese ethnonationalism and I just find it fascinating that it's treated with such subtlety.

[eclipse]

3 hours ago, Shadow Mir said:

I can see where you're coming from with that, even if I still think Zephiel's a terrible, poorly written villain. I mean, he's hardly the only FE character who has a complete asshole for a father, but he's judging all of humanity over one person. That just does not do it for me, especially when compared to, say, Sephiran or the Little Queen (from Graces F), who also condemn humanity, but more for what humanity in general has done, and for over a longer scale. Hell, even Those Who Slither in the Dark are more legitimate as villains than he is.

"I hate you so much that I want to kill you" is probably completely alien to you, as I'll assume that your parents weren't that bad.

This wasn't a one-time thing from Desmond.  He hated Zephiel's everything, from the time he was born.  Think of how hard you fixate on nonzero crit rates.  Now turn that fixation to winning the affection of someone who wants you dead.

1 hour ago, AnonymousSpeed said:

Seems a bit confrontational of a response towards someone for just liking different supports.

Reread the entire comment before making these kinds of statements, will you?

[Lightcosmo]

8 hours ago, eclipse said:

"I hate you so much that I want to kill you" is probably completely alien to you, as I'll assume that your parents weren't that bad.

This wasn't a one-time thing from Desmond.  He hated Zephiel's everything, from the time he was born.  Think of how hard you fixate on nonzero crit rates.  Now turn that fixation to winning the affection of someone who wants you dead.

Thinking about it that way makes it sound really sad. I know that's the idea, but still, it's really sad.

 

9 hours ago, AnonymousSpeed said:

Honestly, a lot of people have talked about Rutger, but I don't like him that much. His supports are kind of "i am edgy man." That said, I do like his A support with Dieck because it's basically the only time the game mentions Bernese ethnonationalism and I just find it fascinating that it's treated with such subtlety.

I always seen Rutger as the more "I want to be that way but am gentle at the core" kinda guy, his childhood just really messed him up, and his desire for vengeance consumes him, rather than simply, " I am badass because I am a detached swordfighter", like a lot of the others.

 

[Icelerate]

On 12/28/2019 at 3:32 AM, A Bard Named Wilhelm said:

Conversely, we have a lot more poorly written aristocratic antagonists permeating the series, particularly in Radiant Dawn, which involved itself the most with nobility, among the titles I'm familiar with anyway.

 

Define poorly written antagonist because I think you're using this term incorrectly. In what universe does Radiant Dawn have poorly written antagonists compared to literally any FE game? 

Edited December 29, 2019 by Icelerate

[A Bard Named Wilhelm]

11 hours ago, Icelerate said:

Define poorly written antagonist because I think you're using this term incorrectly. In what universe does Radiant Dawn have poorly written antagonists compared to literally any FE game? 

The entire anti-Ellincia faction of the Crimean nation, along with the associated senators from Begnion (namely that long haired punk with Valaura) are very forgettable & leave a lot of details to be desired. Specifically, because I feel like in RD this is where the biggest spotlight is given to a plot that delves into aristocratic antagonists, and it's the part of the story that's really neutral. At least Part 4 is so much of a Deus Ex Machina that I can't forget it, and it's fun as hell to boot.

To reiterate what I was getting at earlier, I mention all this because Zephiel gets a lot of exposure and screen time in FE6 to make his motivations known, and he's just a mercurial, angry guy, who happens to have a great deal of power. Consider that; he's got absolute power over his nation, and he's a mean man. This pretty solidly meets my expectations of a good tyrant character. Mind you, I'm not expecting something ground breaking in a video game plot, so I really appreciate the fact that FE6 keeps it simple, and I don't have to suspend my disbelief either. Zephiel just feels true to life, to me. 

Edited December 30, 2019 by A Bard Named Wilhelm

[Icelerate]

10 minutes ago, A Bard Named Wilhelm said:

The entire anti-Ellincia faction of the Crimean nation, along with the associated senators from Begnion (namely that long haired punk with Valaura) are very forgettable & leave a lot of details to be desired. Specifically, because I feel like in RD this is where the biggest spotlight is given to a plot that delves into aristocratic antagonists, and it's the part of the story that's really neutral. At least Part 4 is so much of a Deus Ex Machina that I can't forget it, and it's fun as hell to boot.

To reiterate what I was getting at earlier, I mention all this because Zephiel gets a lot of exposure and screen time in FE6 to make his motivations known, and he's just a mercurial, angry guy, who happens to have a great deal of power. Consider that; he's got absolute power over his nation, and he's a mean man. This pretty solidly meets my expectations of a good tyrant character. Mind you, I'm not expecting something ground breaking in a video game plot, so I really appreciate the fact that FE6 keeps it simple, and I don't have to suspend my disbelief either. Zephiel just feels true to life, to me. 

I find Zephiel to be pretty silly considering he's portrayed to be just as kind as the likes of Nino, Eliwood and Roy, in Blazing Blade, despite having an absolutely unreasonable father. I'm of the opinion that if those three had their parents murder them, they wouldn't react by attempting to destroy the world. Take Nino, for example, do you honestly think that if Sonia turned out to be her real mother, Nino would end up committing genocide? 

The Begnion senators are really fun to hate, more so than any noble villains in the series. Name a single noble villain in the series that are more fun to hate than them. Arucard, Roartz? I'm sorry but I found them a lot more boring compared to the likes of Lekain, Ludveck and Valtome. These guys felt like bigger threats. 

On 12/24/2019 at 7:31 PM, Etrurian emperor said:

What I mean with discount versions is that they pale in comparison. Reptor and Langobald were upstaged in the end but they were still Sigurd's main threat and were never depicted as incompetent.

I'd argue that Reptor and Langobalt in turn are discount versions of Lekain and Valtome. Now that I think about it, does FE have good evil noble villains outside of FE10? Even Three Houses evil nobles barely get any screen time like Ferdinand's dad and he only exists to make Edelgard look badass. No different from Reptor and Langabalt existing to make Arvis look badass and the FE6 nobles existing to make Roy look better in comparison.