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Favorite route narratively?


Muesli
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3H story discussion  

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  1. 1. Favorite route narratively?

    • Silver Snow
      4
    • Crimson Flower
      19
    • Azure Moon
      22
    • Verdant Wind
      11


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My favourite is Azure Moon. As much as I love grand stories about heroes and stuff, it's often the smaller, more personal stories that resonate with me the most, and AM delivers on that front. While there are a few flops in terms of execution, the overall narrative really resonated with me and I love Dimitri's overall journey. Even stuff like how Dimitri's redemption is kickstarted makes sense to me- how Rodrigue's death and his dying words were what Dimitri needed to re-evaluate his own mindset and goals. And the final few chapters, where Dimitri's arc became more and more Edelgard-centric is so good from a narrative standpoint, showing how Dimitri has learned to learn from and remember the past, but to grow beyond it, while Edelgard is still obsessed with her ideal future to the point where she has neglected the past and present.

Overall, it's not perfect, but I find it to be a beautifully told story and my favourite route in 3H.

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1 hour ago, Anathaco said:

My favourite is Azure Moon. As much as I love grand stories about heroes and stuff, it's often the smaller, more personal stories that resonate with me the most, and AM delivers on that front. While there are a few flops in terms of execution, the overall narrative really resonated with me and I love Dimitri's overall journey. Even stuff like how Dimitri's redemption is kickstarted makes sense to me- how Rodrigue's death and his dying words were what Dimitri needed to re-evaluate his own mindset and goals. And the final few chapters, where Dimitri's arc became more and more Edelgard-centric is so good from a narrative standpoint, showing how Dimitri has learned to learn from and remember the past, but to grow beyond it, while Edelgard is still obsessed with her ideal future to the point where she has neglected the past and present.

Overall, it's not perfect, but I find it to be a beautifully told story and my favourite route in 3H.

Yeah, I really appreciate how involved Azure Moon makes you with Dimitri specifically, it really makes you involved in the story, my only complaints are how it sacrifices worldbuilding for personal story (not necessarily a bad thing, just a personal gripe), and the execution with Dimitri's return to "normal"

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I've heard some one else say it before and I agree completely, Azure Moon is the only route that actually manages to tell a proper story. It still has tonnes of problems, but it's far ahead the other three two.

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My favorite route narratively would be Azure Moon, and I’d try to explain but I don’t think I could do a better job than above posters. Also no slitherers so that’s good.

After that would be Silver Snow, because turning against your lord is a cool plot point, and I really like Byleth being the army leader and the crest of flames banner and all that stuff. Additionally, since this is the “church route”, the siltherers make the most sense here because they exist as enemies of the church and specifically the people in power, i.e. the Nabateans. Also Flayn and Seteth get more screen time. Making more sense doesn’t make TWSITD good though, they still come from nowhere and suck.

Next would be Crimson Flower, a lot of the story moments are just really cool to experience, especially if this isn’t your first story path because it’s akin to siding with “the villain”. Leaving the church and chilling with Edelgard in that abandoned building thing will never not be satisfying and extremely well written. Edelgard’s own good writing contributes all throughout the route as well, especially her relationship with Byleth. The only problem with this route (narratively) is how we go from point A to B to Zzzz587436596 in like 4 chapters.

Meaning last would be Verdant Wind. We don’t care much about Edelgard other than being bAd GuY, the lord’s interpersonal struggle (which is nonexistent) has nothing to do with the plot, they couldn’t even be bothered to make the other lord important in this one (he is a lord and he dies OFF SCREEN! Seriously? (The same thing happens in Silver Snow but at least Dimitri has screen time that isn’t absolutely necessary and the story is way more about Edelgard then all of Fodlan as a whole since you’re not really with any lord or worrying about continent affairs, you’re only worrying about Edelgard and not your own nation.). And then after this nobody defeats the empire and is about to rule all of fodlan these siltherers show up again and tHeN Rhea dumps all of the lore on you aNd ThEn they give him the golden ending?? Verdant Wind’s existence completely destroys any moral argument to play Crimson Flower when all of the same things are accomplished with less bloodshed.

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Crimson flower because it follows from the narrative and questions established in part 1 about the church and the brewing conflict. It feels like the story does what I want it to do, rather than be forced to go along with "fate", a theme also present on the other routes and the game's main soundtrack theme itself. It directly follows on the climax of - in my opinion the single best chapter in the game on either route - chapter 12, and never lets up until the end. Meanwhile I always got bored while slogging through the early filler war phase chapters on the other routes and a few others such as the Deirdiu and Fhirdiad chapters in AM and the virtue signaling narrative that replaced what initially looked like a deconstruction of the "lawful good" blue FE lord.

Edited by SRPG Tryhard
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My favourite for now is Crimson Flower. It has elements that can be interpreted as humanity vs. god, rejecting predesigned fates, making difficult choices, characters from conflicting backgrounds becoming unlikely allies and eventually found family, taking a proactive role in a conflict, etc, which are all very appealing to me in a story. I also find the White Cloud part in BE quite fun upon replaying, as many dialogues take on a new meaning with the additional information acquired from previous play through. 

Verdant Wind, I initially felt lukewarm towards it, but I appreciate it more now. Although it does have this misfits building trust and becoming found family dynamic that I like a lot, Claude initially dwelling at the periphery of the main conflict, as well as him often playing coy did mystify me. I'm also let down by the relatively superficial exploration on xenophobia and racism in the story, although I admit that it's a difficult topic to tackle in a video game. As I become more aware of Claude's progression from being a very guarded person to trusting his friends, as well as him being an ambitious dreamer who can seize opportunities when they present, I do gain more appreciation to his character and the overall story.

Azure Moon is a story that I appreciate when analysing, but also frustrates me when playing as a game. Its critic to blind devotion to chivalry, the drama of two well-meaning people with unreconcilable ideals clashing, as well as its subversion of a traditional hero's reactionary violence are elements that I love seeing in a story. The tragedy of a good-hearted but also myopic person, which is understandable from his backstory, ultimately preserving the system that perpetuates suffering, is also a bittersweet irony that I find interesting. However, when played as a video game, its lack of cathartic response to toxic chivalry culture does frustrate me at times, as I feel that I was actively working to preserve something that I don't support, while also being passive in the story because of the confinement of the game. Although this dissonance can be mitigated by pretending role playing as a loyal supporter for example. 

Silver Snow on its own, I find it probably the least exciting, but it does provide a narrative contrast with Crimson Flower. In SS, the two main characters walk the paths predesigned by two opposing factions, which can be interpreted as either fateful second coming of historic showdown, or being tragically manipulated into enemies. Personally, SS evoked to me a certain regret of Byleth that things had to come to this clashing course, as well as a certain emptiness stemming from a similar outcome to AM.

Edited by DriftingWaterBottle
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Story-wise, Crimson Flower. Narrative is focused and there's plenty of emotional resonance, there's a clear/middle/end, and you accomplish what you set out to do in a satisfactory manner. You get unique maps and get to see another side of Rhea and Dimitri. The only thing wrong is that I wanted more and actual quality cutscenes the other routes have. I also wish I could stab more Slitherers, but I understand how that would be difficult to implement in this particular route. It doesn't have what I find annoying in AM and in VW to a lesser extent.

Also, no God-Emperor Byleth!

As to which route I'd gravitate to if I wanted to play it again, I choose VW because I simply enjoy the house/gameplay more.  

Edited by Crysta
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Which route is my favorite, narratively? Definitely either Azure Moon or Silver Snow. Azure Moon is a very satisfying character-driven route that really tells a complete story, unlike Crimson Flower that stops short and leaves some things to epilogues. Silver Snow is the most satisfying to complete in terms of world-building, and makes the most sense in those same terms. Verdant Wind is just SS with a little extra Claude stuff and doesn't feel like "Claude's story" like it should.

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19 hours ago, Jotari said:

Also can I request a poll on this. The voices of the lurkers must be heard!

Great idea, changed it now

 

22 hours ago, Sooks1016 said:

My favorite route narratively would be Azure Moon, and I’d try to explain but I don’t think I could do a better job than above posters. Also no slitherers so that’s good.

After that would be Silver Snow, because turning against your lord is a cool plot point, and I really like Byleth being the army leader and the crest of flames banner and all that stuff. Additionally, since this is the “church route”, the siltherers make the most sense here because they exist as enemies of the church and specifically the people in power, i.e. the Nabateans. Also Flayn and Seteth get more screen time. Making more sense doesn’t make TWSITD good though, they still come from nowhere and suck.

Next would be Crimson Flower, a lot of the story moments are just really cool to experience, especially if this isn’t your first story path because it’s akin to siding with “the villain”. Leaving the church and chilling with Edelgard in that abandoned building thing will never not be satisfying and extremely well written. Edelgard’s own good writing contributes all throughout the route as well, especially her relationship with Byleth. The only problem with this route (narratively) is how we go from point A to B to Zzzz587436596 in like 4 chapters.

Meaning last would be Verdant Wind. We don’t care much about Edelgard other than being bAd GuY, the lord’s interpersonal struggle (which is nonexistent) has nothing to do with the plot, they couldn’t even be bothered to make the other lord important in this one (he is a lord and he dies OFF SCREEN! Seriously? (The same thing happens in Silver Snow but at least Dimitri has screen time that isn’t absolutely necessary and the story is way more about Edelgard then all of Fodlan as a whole since you’re not really with any lord or worrying about continent affairs, you’re only worrying about Edelgard and not your own nation.). And then after this nobody defeats the empire and is about to rule all of fodlan these siltherers show up again and tHeN Rhea dumps all of the lore on you aNd ThEn they give him the golden ending?? Verdant Wind’s existence completely destroys any moral argument to play Crimson Flower when all of the same things are accomplished with less bloodshed.

Very valid arguments, and I do agree with most of it, I just personally think Crimson Flower managed to move me the most

15 hours ago, SRPG Tryhard said:

Crimson flower because it follows from the narrative and questions established in part 1 about the church and the brewing conflict. It feels like the story does what I want it to do, rather than be forced to go along with "fate", a theme also present on the other routes and the game's main soundtrack theme itself. It directly follows on the climax of - in my opinion the single best chapter in the game on either route - chapter 12, and never lets up until the end. Meanwhile I always got bored while slogging through the early filler war phase chapters on the other routes and a few others such as the Deirdiu and Fhirdiad chapters in AM and the virtue signaling narrative that replaced what initially looked like a deconstruction of the "lawful good" blue FE lord.

I actually really enjoyed Azure Moon as well, the maps are much more original and make more sense narratively than Verdant Wind's for example

15 hours ago, DriftingWaterBottle said:

My favourite for now is Crimson Flower. It has elements that can be interpreted as humanity vs. god, rejecting predesigned fates, making difficult choices, characters from conflicting backgrounds becoming unlikely allies and eventually found family, taking a proactive role in a conflict, etc, which are all very appealing to me in a story. I also find the White Cloud part in BE quite fun upon replaying, as many dialogues take on a new meaning with the additional information acquired from previous play through. 

Verdant Wind, I initially felt lukewarm towards it, but I appreciate it more now. Although it does have this misfits building trust and becoming found family dynamic that I like a lot, Claude initially dwelling at the periphery of the main conflict, as well as him often playing coy did mystify me. I'm also let down by the relatively superficial exploration on xenophobia and racism in the story, although I admit that it's a difficult topic to tackle in a video game. As I become more aware of Claude's progression from being a very guarded person to trusting his friends, as well as him being an ambitious dreamer who can seize opportunities when they present, I do gain more appreciation to his character and the overall story.

Azure Moon is a story that I appreciate when analysing, but also frustrates me when playing as a game. Its critic to blind devotion to chivalry, the drama of two well-meaning people with unreconcilable ideals clashing, as well as its subversion of a traditional hero's reactionary violence are elements that I love seeing in a story. The tragedy of a good-hearted but also myopic person, which is understandable from his backstory, ultimately preserving the system that perpetuates suffering, is also a bittersweet irony that I find interesting. However, when played as a video game, its lack of cathartic response to toxic chivalry culture does frustrate me at times, as I feel that I was actively working to preserve something that I don't support, while also being passive in the story because of the confinement of the game. Although this dissonance can be mitigated by pretending role playing as a loyal supporter for example. 

Silver Snow on its own, I find it probably the least exciting, but it does provide a narrative contrast with Crimson Flower. In SS, the two main characters walk the paths predesigned by two opposing factions, which can be interpreted as either fateful second coming of historic showdown, or being tragically manipulated into enemies. Personally, SS evoked to me a certain regret of Byleth that things had to come to this clashing course, as well as a certain emptiness stemming from a similar outcome to AM.

Interesting takes as well, Azure Moon frustrated me a lot in some points too, some aspects could've been tackled way better

12 hours ago, Crysta said:

Story-wise, Crimson Flower. Narrative is focused and there's plenty of emotional resonance, there's a clear/middle/end, and you accomplish what you set out to do in a satisfactory manner. You get unique maps and get to see another side of Rhea and Dimitri. The only thing wrong is that I wanted more and actual quality cutscenes the other routes have. I also wish I could stab more Slitherers, but I understand how that would be difficult to implement in this particular route. It doesn't have what I find annoying in AM and in VW to a lesser extent.

Also, no God-Emperor Byleth!

As to which route I'd gravitate to if I wanted to play it again, I choose VW because I simply enjoy the house/gameplay more.  

I uhh have to agree with you, you 100% spoke on my behalf I have nothing more to add

8 hours ago, Fire Emblem Fan said:

Which route is my favorite, narratively? Definitely either Azure Moon or Silver Snow. Azure Moon is a very satisfying character-driven route that really tells a complete story, unlike Crimson Flower that stops short and leaves some things to epilogues. Silver Snow is the most satisfying to complete in terms of world-building, and makes the most sense in those same terms. Verdant Wind is just SS with a little extra Claude stuff and doesn't feel like "Claude's story" like it should.

Sadly Crimson Flower was a little rushed and feels incomplete at points, but I definitely do think Azure Moon and Silver Snow are well written as well

 

 

Overall, my verdict is that Verdant Wind is the only route that really disappointed me, but even then, Claude as a lord is so enigmatic that he really just kept me invested all throughout

 

One think VW did right was asking all the same questions most of us were asking

 

No other route tackled the biggest question of all, "What the hell are the Hero's relics, and what the hell really happened 1000 years ago?"

 

I just think overall 3H is very well written, my biggest issue is the lack of worldbuilding, in every route

Sometimes it feels like most of the worldbuilding is done in paralogues, which imo is not a very good thing

 

I don't really have anything more to add

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Did you play SS? It reveals much more than VW does.

I'm not sure why you think the origin of the relics is unexplained, they were made from the corpses of Nabateans that Nemesis slayed with the SOTC.

4 hours ago, Muesli said:

Sadly Crimson Flower was a little rushed and feels incomplete at points, but I definitely do think Azure Moon and Silver Snow are well written as well

Assuming you mean the usual complaint about not fighting TWSITD after Rhea, then Crimson Flower isn't more rushed or incomplete than Azure Moon is. If they were held up to the same standards that is. 

Any sort of comparison on the "completeness" of a route is arbitrary and moot when you fail to account for how much VW and AM recycle content from SS (not only the battles but also the base conversations, endings etc).

4 hours ago, Muesli said:

I just think overall 3H is very well written, my biggest issue is the lack of worldbuilding, in every route

What part of the "world" is not "built"? Seeing the way it has been abused on FE forums, "Worldbuilding" is a buzzword at this point.

Edited by SRPG Tryhard
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Silver Snow for me :

  • Seteth as a main character 
  • Fight against the least amount of former students
  • Learn about Byleth's past
  • Succes 14 paired ending

Other route i dislike because :

  • Too short or too long
  • Fight former student
  • One character finish solo ending
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3 hours ago, SRPG Tryhard said:

Did you play SS? It reveals much more than VW does.

I'm not sure why you think the origin of the relics is unexplained, they were made from the corpses of Nabateans that Nemesis slayed with the SOTC.

Assuming you mean the usual complaint about not fighting TWSITD after Rhea, then Crimson Flower isn't more rushed or incomplete than Azure Moon is. If they were held up to the same standards that is. 

Any sort of comparison on the "completeness" of a route is arbitrary and moot when you fail to account for how much VW and AM recycle content from SS (not only the battles but also the base conversations, endings etc).

What part of the "world" is not "built"? Seeing the way it has been abused on FE forums, "Worldbuilding" is a buzzword at this point.

I was trying to find something that VW does well, SS does it better lol

I never said they were unexplained, it's just that Claude tries to dig into them deeper while the other 2 lords have more personal conflicts to deal with

I do not actually, I think it's perfectly fine that there's no twsitd content, I wish we had explored more of the Kingdom before the game ended

But yes I do agree the recycling is an issue

With worldbuilding I mean exploring more areas of Fodlan, I wish there were more travelling around the continent 

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I really like both Azure Moon and Crimson Flower. Voted for CF but it depends on my mood somewhat. AM is basically the most cohesive story by itself, and if someone was only going to play one route of the game I'd probably recommend that. Dimitri's struggle is compelling, Edelgard is handled much better than on the other routes where she's an antagonist, Claude actually has a role to play (unlike SS). But CF is arguably the route the game is truly about for me. Three Houses is a game that asks when revolution is justified and the costs of violent conflict and CF addresses that the most directly. The other routes have a similar amount of bloodshed but often gloss it over (VW by often being a jokesy fun time, SS by stripping almost out all the named opponents so you don't feel the gravity of your actions).

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10 hours ago, Crysta said:

Like what?

The blood cult in the church revealed in the last chapter, Rhea degenerating like classic FE dragons, the origin of Byleth explained properly, Rhea confessing that she was wrong in her S support and more.

Such a pity that the lie that SS is a rehash of VW and not the inverse, kept going around for so long as it did which resulted in people missing so many basic plot points from what was intended to be the game's main route.

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2 hours ago, SRPG Tryhard said:

Such a pity that the lie that SS is a rehash of VW and not the inverse, kept going around for so long as it did which resulted in people missing so many basic plot points from what was intended to be the game's main route.

“Main route”? What is that supposed to mean?

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3 hours ago, SRPG Tryhard said:

The blood cult in the church revealed in the last chapter, Rhea degenerating like classic FE dragons, the origin of Byleth explained properly, Rhea confessing that she was wrong in her S support and more.

Such a pity that the lie that SS is a rehash of VW and not the inverse, kept going around for so long as it did which resulted in people missing so many basic plot points from what was intended to be the game's main route.

The blood cult reveal and the Rhea support is really the only unique lore that SS has, and that's hardly what I'd call "much more". Byleth's origins are better explained in the DLC, and after VW... I really don't think it's monumental details absolutely integral to anything in the story.

It is the dull first draft route, not the "main route".

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1 hour ago, Crysta said:

The blood cult reveal and the Rhea support is really the only unique lore that SS has, and that's hardly what I'd call "much more". Byleth's origins are better explained in the DLC, and after VW... I really don't think it's monumental details absolutely integral to anything in the story.

It is the dull first draft route, not the "main route".

They are indeed important to the story because they show just how Rhea's church worked and how everything about it revolved around her. There are also a number of comments that Seteth makes about the Empire under Edelgard as well as her death scene that are important to debunk a few common misconceptions. I suppose the DLC indeed expanded on Sitri by actually showing her, but SS already covered all the questions about what happened to Byleth.

I said it's the "main" route because it's the first made and because the other two are clearly based on it. Forget the "canon"/"golden"/"true" epithets. It carries the main theme of making Edelgard out to be a subversion of the red emperor FE trope and a misunderstood antagonist that the director describes in that one interview everyone is talking about.

I wouldn't dismissively call it a "first draft", especially in comparison to VW and how sloppily it handles Edelgard by pretending Byleth is still her special sensei that lead her class there. An obvious artifact of the rehashing it went through. The illogical exclusiveness of their final chapters also points towards more rehashing shenanigans. It makes no sense why Rhea degenerates only in SS and Nemesis wakes up only in VW when the same exact events transpired. They probably moved the chapter with Nemesis over to VW to justify its existence because otherwise VW is a carbon copy of SS, map wise. If SS is a first draft then VW is a sloppy rewrite to fill out the one route per lord quota. The complaints about how it never shows Almyra despite how it constantly teases it are a staple too. Teasing something but never delivering on it is a major problem for a story.

Disclaimer: Claude is one of my favorite characters in the game that I was surprised to like as much as I did despite how I was predisposed to dislike him, which is a huge plus for me, but his route is just not as good. It might have been awsome when I played it before SS and AM, but in retrospect it's lacking.

I'm not even an SS fanboy, I already made another post about my favorite. I'm just saying that playing SS is vital to understanding the story and that the misleading notion that "VW is just SS but better" should be put to rest. 

Edited by SRPG Tryhard
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my favorite route is SS, because it has the highest amount of elements i liked in 3H: every Church character, exterminating the empire and TWSITD, a story that makes sense, a decent amount of chapters, good plot revelations, and of course Rhea as a romance option

i really like AM too, but it's not my favorite because it 100% revolves around Dimitri, and that's both interesting but also potentially boring after a while because it does nothing for you as a player aside from showing you Dimitri's path to "redemption", which is cool, but i feel like this should've been a FE game on its own

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Wow, looks like I'm the only one who voted VW ^.^. I just completed VW, my 3rd route having done CF first, then AM, then VW. Yet to play SS, will be doing Cindered Shadows now. I think the reason I prefer VW is probably because it reveals the most about Fodlan's history and lore which I care about. It's also the most epic route imo. To be honest, I'm actually a bit frustrated by how little we learn about Fodlan's mysteries in the CF and AM routes. I spent a lot of time carefully picking apart dialogues, going through the books in the library, etc trying to better understand and piece together the secrets, then comes VW and plainly tells you everything! It completely changed my opinion on the CF route as well (which I now consider a major tragedy).

While the CF and AM routes tell you more about the characters, their motivations and struggles, it left me with little to go by in terms of understanding Fodlan's history, so as a player I never had enough information to make up my mind about what I truly want for Fodlan's future. Story wise, I prefer CF over AM, but the implementation of AM was done much better imo. That said, when AM ended it didn't feel like a battle for Fodlan, more a battle for Dimitri, his motives were mostly self-centered, which is fine just different.

CF has a good combination of personal motives and grand plans for Fodlan's future. Tragically though, Edelgard seems to have an inaccurate account of Fodlan's history, as passed to her by TWSITD. So that makes her route such a tragedy because her hatred of the church was largely misplaced, she was manipulated. But at least she had the sense to go after TWSITD as well afterwards too (which should've been a playable part of the route).

Whereas VW has the most idealistic grand ambitions with a large focus on Fodlan's history and mysteries. Even the paralogues its characters are involved with are all important for lore-building (Leonie/Linhardt's, Claude's, Marianne's, all help us to better understand the past and give us glimpses of the past that I don't think we see anywhere else). Claude too has good personal reasons for his ambitions but I think this route could've done more to explore his past experiences. It felt like the least personal route to me.

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On 9/18/2020 at 4:24 AM, Anathaco said:

My favourite is Azure Moon. As much as I love grand stories about heroes and stuff, it's often the smaller, more personal stories that resonate with me the most, and AM delivers on that front. While there are a few flops in terms of execution, the overall narrative really resonated with me and I love Dimitri's overall journey. Even stuff like how Dimitri's redemption is kickstarted makes sense to me- how Rodrigue's death and his dying words were what Dimitri needed to re-evaluate his own mindset and goals. And the final few chapters, where Dimitri's arc became more and more Edelgard-centric is so good from a narrative standpoint, showing how Dimitri has learned to learn from and remember the past, but to grow beyond it, while Edelgard is still obsessed with her ideal future to the point where she has neglected the past and present.

Overall, it's not perfect, but I find it to be a beautifully told story and my favourite route in 3H.

Couldn't have said it better myself. Azure Moon is such a great story arc and an amazing arc for Dimitri as a character.

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23 hours ago, drattakbowser said:

Silver Snow for me :

  • Seteth as a main character 
  • Fight against the least amount of former students
  • Learn about Byleth's past
  • Succes 14 paired ending

Other route i dislike because :

  • Too short or too long
  • Fight former student
  • One character finish solo ending

You've convinced me to do SS before letting this game go. I love Seteth.

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11 hours ago, SRPG Tryhard said:

They are indeed important to the story because they show just how Rhea's church worked and how everything about it revolved around her. There are also a number of comments that Seteth makes about the Empire under Edelgard as well as her death scene that are important to debunk a few common misconceptions. I suppose the DLC indeed expanded on Sitri by actually showing her, but SS already covered all the questions about what happened to Byleth.

It really isn't much of a question by the time you're done with the other routes, nor does it really add anything surprising. If you do SS first, it's better, but it's not particularly enlightening or compelling on it's own.

11 hours ago, SRPG Tryhard said:

I said it's the "main" route because it's the first made and because the other two are clearly based on it. Forget the "canon"/"golden"/"true" epithets. It carries the main theme of making Edelgard out to be a subversion of the red emperor FE trope and a misunderstood antagonist that the director describes in that one interview everyone is talking about.

It's the first draft the others borrow from.

AM's last conversation with her, ironically enough, makes Edelgard more sympathetic than SS ever does after the TS -- at least in regard to her actual world viewpoint. Which is ironic because she's also at her worst in that route. After the TS cutscene, she's back to the same role she serves in VW in spite of being your former student and that apparently being relevant to the narrative.

11 hours ago, SRPG Tryhard said:

I wouldn't dismissively call it a "first draft", especially in comparison to VW and how sloppily it handles Edelgard by pretending Byleth is still her special sensei that lead her class there.

VW clearly isn't the first route written, as we know now.

I would have preferred if they removed the dumb Rhea concern and sensei details, but is it really as sloppy as removing your former pupil entirely from the narrative? The removal is less jarring when she's not your student, because why would you even care?

11 hours ago, SRPG Tryhard said:

It makes no sense why Rhea degenerates only in SS and Nemesis wakes up only in VW when the same exact events transpired. They probably moved the chapter with Nemesis over to VW to justify its existence because otherwise VW is a carbon copy of SS, map wise. If SS is a first draft then VW is a sloppy rewrite to fill out the one route per lord quota. The complaints about how it never shows Almyra despite how it constantly teases it are a staple too. Teasing something but never delivering on it is a major problem for a story.

I actually agree with this. Rhea going dragon cray cray is another ass pull. It would have made more sense to have Nemesis in SS, but they decided not to do that, and they wrote it first.

But AM doesn't differ much map-wise, either, and SS has a lot more wrong with it than the ending. Byleth is a husk, has Seteth as a foil, and the BEs are kind of an afterthought. You don't really get any in-depth knowledge of the Nabateans, and it would be an easy way to differentiate it from the other routes since Seteth and Flayn are the ones guiding you and this is where you get the Rhea S support, but naaaah. The two other lords don't really show up (Ghost Dimitri feels like an ad to encourage you to play AM/another route lmao) -- which I wouldn't really care about if emphasis was given to Edelgard instead due to her connection with Byleth... but, again, has about as much relevance as the route where you aren't her teacher. You can't even look forward to that angst.

imo the wasted potential of VW doesn't hold a candle to what SS could have been but decided not to be

11 hours ago, SRPG Tryhard said:

Disclaimer: Claude is one of my favorite characters in the game that I was surprised to like as much as I did despite how I was predisposed to dislike him, which is a huge plus for me, but his route is just not as good. It might have been awsome when I played it before SS and AM, but in retrospect it's lacking.

I'm not even an SS fanboy, I already made another post about my favorite. I'm just saying that playing SS is vital to understanding the story and that the misleading notion that "VW is just SS but better" should be put to rest. 

VW >>>>> SS definitely for me, but I don't care if someone else disagrees. I just don't see it's selling points at all. I was bored and just faffed around with the DLC characters, but that may simply be because I played something essentially the same but a degree better first (VW).

Your opinion is noted, but opposing opinions don't need to be "put to rest".

Edited by Crysta
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