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What's your favorite FE continent?


L3xandr3
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What's your favorite FE continent?  

36 members have voted

  1. 1. Well, what is it?

    • Elibe
      4
    • Jugdral
      8
    • Fates-landia
      0
    • Ylisse/Valm
      1
    • Tellius
      16
    • Archenea
      0
    • Valentia
      0
    • Magvel
      5
    • Fodlan
      2
    • Zenith (Heroes' continent)
      0


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More out of curiosity than anything else, what's everyone's favorite continent? Whether because of what takes place on them, or just for the geology.

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It’s tough to choose between Jugdral, Fates land, and Fodlan, but I went with Jugdral because I really like Verdane and Agustria. 

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Tellius, and it isn't even close.

 

From a visual design, I find the maps way more memorable. I know almost every PoR map by heart years later.

 

The political intrigue is more pronounced. Racial tensions are acknowledged, even in the ranks of the protagonists. The laguz feel like a real collection of cultures, unlike the vastly more shallow manaketes, taguel, etc. They don't attempt to portray the home nation as flawless good guys, and even the "bad guys" of the first game are given a chance to become the heroes of the next. Tellius is more fleshed out and nuanced than any other FE world has ever been, and, unfortunately, likely ever will be.

Edited by Fabulously Olivier
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interesting polling, but ultimately at the end it boils down to : "which continent is the setting of your favorite FE"

if we're talking about continent as in geography, its actually hard to choose. because all continent almost always have its "cold" region (maps), "hot" region (maps), and "everything in-between" region (maps). IS always make sure the biomes or environment varied enough for whatever reason.

Also, the most we get where geography matter to backstory afaik is Valentia in SoV, where climate turns out dictate people laziness... (dunno if RD tellius give any, didnt play. but im pretty sure PoR not.). so its not like because of the continent there is laguz, dragon, etc etc. because they dont give us exposition where a continent make people turn into something else. for example, a continent water source is so far between that it forces people to run on all four to get there faster hence the birth of beastmen. or theres extreme scarcity of food on land some of them turn into merman because they keep diving for food for generations,  XD

if we're talking about politics that happen on that continent, its just about story, nothing unique about the continent. since the shape or content of the continent didnt really matter to that

Spoiler

why do you read this, but not that long ass explanation i gave above?

also, i choose elibe for obvious reason

 

Edited by joevar
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Probably a combined first place for Tellius and Fodlan, with Elibe in second place. 

Tellius and Fodlan are the obvious pick because those two countries invest the most in its worldbuilding. The countries have vastly different outlook on things that go beyond simple concepts such as ''good nation with knights'' and ''evil nations with wyvrens''. Both have a more detailed history and each country just feels very different. Both continents also offer the occasional subversion with the previously evil nation of Daien getting the chance to be the oppressed victims in the sequel, or Fearghus which seemed the most knightly of the nations being the first to collapse because its surprisingly unstable and corrupt. I think I mildly favor Tellius because of its rogue gallery. Having the minor bosses around to constantly depicts the traits of their nation adds something to the worldbuilding which is something Fodlan can't replicate because there are almost no minor bosses, and when they are present they tend to be generic units rather than actual characters. 

Elibe isn't as deep as Fodlan or Elibe, but its a very varied continent. Each nation unique with Sacean, Lycians, and Etrurians all being very different culturally and in Sacea's case aesthetically too. The continent also has a more unique division between the countries. Bern and Etrurian are monarchies of unified nation states while the lesser nations are all different sorts of federations, tribal in the case of Sacea and Feudal in the case of Lycia. 

Edited by Etrurian emperor
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While Fodlan is the more developed continent, I still enjoy Elibe the most. The geography is nice, which helps make the maps more memorable to me.

If it had been developed better, I actually think Fates-landia has a chance to be a pretty good world. Not nessecarily to the level of Fodlan or Tellius, but still pretty good.

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On 4/17/2021 at 9:53 AM, Fabulously Olivier said:

Tellius, and it isn't even close.

 

From a visual design, I find the maps way more memorable. I know almost every PoR map by heart years later.

 

The political intrigue is more pronounced. Racial tensions are acknowledged, even in the ranks of the protagonists. The laguz feel like a real collection of cultures, unlike the vastly more shallow manaketes, taguel, etc. They don't attempt to portray the home nation as flawless good guys, and even the "bad guys" of the first game are given a chance to become the heroes of the next. Tellius is more fleshed out and nuanced than any other FE world has ever been, and, unfortunately, likely ever will be.

Pretty much all this: the maps are very memorable and interesting, the different nations really come across as distinct societies and cultures, each with their own issues, and it all ties into the plot really well. The closest that any other FE continent has come to Tellius' level of great worldbuilding is Fodlan, and even then, a lot of the worldbuilding is in books rather than in stuff that the player really gets to see, and a lot of the worldbuilding that we do see is just political rather than also cultural. Plus, the maps aren't as memorable.

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Tellius, easily. Across two games is the best worldbuilding FE has seen in the series, IMHO.

Unlike most of the other games, Tellius feels like an actual place that you exist and act in. Each nation involved in the games' events has its own distinct culture and vibe, so to speak. Everything comes across as oddly realistic for a game steeped in fantasy. Like the politics themselves were adapted from non-fiction into the overall plot. It's just really great.

Fodlan comes close, but Tellius is the peak, I'd say.

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Geographically:

  • Archanea is unique amongst FE continents to this day. It has something of a Mediterranean world design, which is to say it is land connected by water, water is not a barrier, but an essential bridge. Archanea is mostly islands and coast wherein travel by sea is required for interaction between countries, which should likewise have some economic and military impact.
    • The core issue, is that Archanea doesn't realize it's like this and squanders the distinctive facets of islands & coast geography. There is never a mention of Archanean navies, when they would be invaluable in warfare. 
  • Valentia is a mere two countries, but SoV did brush on the Mediterranean architecture pleasantly. Not bad.
  • Jugdral is visually samey to some degree. Silesse has snow, Yied is desert, Verdane is very forested, Thracia a lot of mountains and wasteland. And yet, I think the countries and Genealogy's signature gigantic maps which represent them, could paint them more vividly.
  • Elibe makes each country distinct, except for Etruria which we barely see at all, it probably matches ordinary Lycia and naught more. Sacae is a great portrayal of plains. Elibe has the least geographically homogenous countries in all of FE I'd say.
  • Magvel is not shown enough as a continent, Jehanna has desert, but that is about the end of it. The rest of the countries are visually indistinctive, and Frelia, like Etruria, is barely seen.
  • Tellius compares favorably with Jugdral in terms of visual differences. The Laguz countries could be shown more, and I'd like a look at southern Begnion because we never visit there either. Still, it's good.
  • Ylisse & Valm, for some people, be it meant lightly or more seriously, is becomes the target of "Why is this here?" and "Why has what was X in Marth's time, become Y in Chrom's". Awakening's approach to things make each landscape, barring meticulously-visited Plegia and maybe Ylisse, feel more localized than spanning an entire country, without having other clues as to what the entire country is like.
  • Not judging Fateslandia, nor Fodlan, neither in this nor lore.
  • TearRing Saga leans towards indistinctive. And we don't see Canaan or most of Leda.

 

Lore-wise...

  • Archanea has plentiful world-building, Kaga is likely to be thanked for this. But yet again, there is something missing from it, it doesn't feel so "alive". It's all dead stuff, dead or degenerate dragons and stuffy kingdoms, I like Archanea, but it needs a spark added to it.
  • I won't judge Valentia.
  • Jugdral- Thracia is splendidly developed, and Grannvale ain't bad. Much of the rest is undercooked.
  • Elibe, the colonialism/imperialism of Etruria over the Western Isles is an unusual for FE. Lycia is finely developed too, albeit it leans a little bit towards "why bother with an aristocratic country, all that does is open the door to internal betrayal, so swap to monarchy". Whilst Jugdral and Tellius might have more total development, in terms of per-country basis, the development is most evenly spread out in Elibe I'd say.
  • Magvel is underdeveloped practically everywhere. Maybe Grado, Jehanna and Carcino/Caer Pelyn are alright at best, but Frelia, Rausten, and ironically Renais the heroes' land, are all very lacking.
  • Tellius has its faults, the Beorc-Laguz relations are imbalanced, the Laguz countries are underdeveloped, and the Blood Pact to name three. But by FE's standards, it is the continent with the best world-building overall. And it's world-building that feels "alive".
  • Awakening geography was questionable, its world-building is even worse.
  • TearRing Saga is basically the lore of Archanea and Jugdral thrown in a blender, with a few new flavorings I shall admit. I'm not sure where to place it however- above Jugdral, below Jugdral but above Elibe, below Elibe? I do not know.
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