[We have the answer to "is marriage in this game?"]

The difference is, generics are supposed to be generic. They are just extras, not intended to contribute to the story, world-building or interpersonal relationships. The children characters might not be necessary for the completion of the game but it's still a missed opportunity to contribute to the story. The children are just fanservice, as far as we know.

I suppose you could say that. To me the capturing of generic units to expand your forces is just as much fanservice as the inclusion of children that don't have a huge impact on the story. I mean, maybe I just don't care as much about the missed opportunity the children may have presented this time.

I still appreciate the fanservice though.

[Captured Generics]

I'll probably be using some for bait, so some of my weaker units can have a chance to gain some experience.

Other than that, I won't be using them much. I might be using them if they're strong units, but I'd rather have my exclusive-route characters fight, compared to a generic soldier. And if I'm not letting them fight, I'll just take their weapons and then let the enemies kill them on the battlefield.

Oh! I didn't think of that! Using some generics as bait to help level the villager type characters may turn out to be an amazing strategy!

[Pricing Model for Fates]

I think the best way would be to release Fire Emblem Fates as three versions. The Nohr and Hoshido path, for those people, and just as many of a combined version for people who want to experience both. The third one would have to be $60 rather than the $40, but if you got both paths out of it I don't think people would mind as much.

OR a special edition with all three paths included (Depending on if they translate it quick enough or give you a download code) for like... $70~80. Again, I don't know how many people would go for it, but I know it'd be more than we think. I know I would buy one right away if they announced it.

Sucks pricing is so much worse in Australia and Canada. Especially Australia. Hope you guys get in better standing there at some point.

[How actively will you avoid spoilers once Fate is released?]

I would like to pretend like I will avoid spoilers and I think thanks to Serene's forest I may be able to avoid some major story spoilers, but in the same breath I thought the same thing with awakening and I pretty much spoiled the entire thing for myself. However, spoilers didn't stop me from playing it for hours on end, so I'm not to worried about spoilers ruining the experience.

So I'll probably spoil myself rotten.

[Captured Generics]

I doubt I'll use it myself, since I like using the units with names and personalities and supports.

However, the idea about nicking their weapons is interesting. Now if only that would be true I might not mind it so much, but I doubt that would be the case. When you capture them, if you don't get their weapon right there I highly doubt they would still have their weapon while in prison.

[Will You Play the Game Using the Opposite Gender?]

I generally mostly play as males in games, but I really liked the customization for the female avatar in awakening. When I got around to playing her I was kind of burned out on the game (After 500 plus hours of draining it, that is) so I still haven't finished a female Robin playthrough. Even still, I suspect i'll play Male and Female Corrin in Fates. The differences are just a little to interesting and tempting this time around. Hopefully the supports between the two will also be more different as well.

[Known Information (2nd June)]

I was not sure where to ask this, so i decided to go here.

How likely is it that they bring back the dual audio option from Awakening? Looking at the japanese cast got me really excited so i'm really hoping i can play with the original audio. Probably it's because i'm not a native speaker, but the english dub sounds meh for me.

Fixing that annoying bug would also be neat IS =D

Don't know how likely it is, but I hope so. I enjoyed playing through the game once with english audio and once with japanese.

Also yeah, I have that annoying bug from the digital version too. I really hope they fix it, because otherwise I have to change the audio back and forth any time I start the game if I want to listen to the game in japanese. I don't dislike the english audio, but it does sound slightly bland compared to some of the japanese. Of course, with only a couple words said by each character most of the time, that could just be an impression.

[We have the answer to "is marriage in this game?"]

I think that's a good and bad thing. The good part is that the plot will hopefully remain focused on the Hoshido/Nohr conflict and Kamui's role in it. The bad part is that a chunk of the cast will have no relation to the story at all and just be these random weirdos from another dimension. Furthermore something as momentous as the existence of a multiverse won't even be commented on, leaving us to wonder what is canon and what isn't.

You could say that about the capture mechanic as well. Being able to capture and recruit generic units that have no personality or bearing on the plot can be considered a knock.

However, it's a mechanic I know my friend is really excited about. He sucks at Awakening even on normal, so he never got very far into it. Being able to recruit random units and the fact that the children characters have no bearing on the plot has him excited. He may even be tempted to try the game on classic. Probably not, but I think the more focused plotline will also push him through the game. He loved Sacred Stones and nearly beat that game, so I think branching paths and focused plots help him.

[Do you 'support' LGBT supports in "Fire Emblem: if"?]

It would certainly suggest that those players opposed (as in diametrically opposed; excluding those neutral/indifferent) to either the inclusion or exclusion of LGBT characters would be in the underwhelming minority, but it would also suggest that any revenue generated or lost on the basis of gameplay aspects involving inclusion would also be minimal. It would then come down to the effort and monetary cost of inclusion. Would IS simply make 4 out of a playable cast of 40 inclusive? Would IS double or triple the support dialogue to allow a majority/all combinations? Would any of the various routes IS could pursue generate enough revenue to cover any loss in sales from disgruntled fans/warrant the expense and effort? Awakening focused extensively on the inclusion of a more casual fanbase (that dwarfed the old school demogrpahic), and thanks to that change we are able to even have this discussion on inclusiveness in future Fire Emblem titles.

At the end of the day even the heterosexual pairings with the "best" or "cutest" supports are shunned in favor of eugenics. Ike has base 1 magic and a 20% growth rate in PoR and Soren has base 0 strength and a 5% growth rate, I'm sorry to say this but in terms of Waifu Emblem mechanics Soren!Ike-jr. would be grossly suboptimal.

^ this is something I can agree with. Cost no matter what people think is a huge factor in what and what isn't included in a game. If the Avatar is supposed to be able to romance every character to attempt and satisfy the majority of their new fanbase. The small amount of increased sales they might get (Because there's no evidence we have to prove it right now) may not cover the cost of adding those supports and the loss of sales caused by more closed minded people (because let's face it, there's always people like that.)

It's why i hope this time they focus on improving the supports. If the supports the player character has with the characters is a bit more interesting, we can then hopefully push for inclusion next time. Also, children nerfing and making who the parent is less important would be nice so people can choose their 'waifu' more easily without worrying about skills and such.

[Marriage and Romance Speculation and Discussion Topic]

I'm okay with time skip as long as I keep the first generation, too.

While we're here what do you think the likelihood of marrying the Nohr siblings is?

I think they'll have A ranks with the Avatar, but no S. Since they are like the Hoshido siblings on the opposite path, it feels like the theme of family should stay strong and stay away from the whole "Well we're family but not related so let's get married" thing.

However, I would not be surprised if you can marry the Nohr siblings. It's probably too tempting to resist that, since they aren't actual blood relatives.

[next gen - timeskip or alt dimension?]

The only way there would be a time skip is if at a certain point in the story every character that was married had a kid and that was the time skip, but I can't see that happening due to people having supports maxed at different points. Therefore, it's likely alternate dimension.

[Nintendo Treehouse, Hoshido Version]

Gotta have your cavalier for the game don'cha know. Though interestingly enough I wasn't a huge fan of Sully or Stahl in Awakening. Huh. Hopefully Silas will heal my not really broken heart with cavaliers.

[Aqua and the Lake]

Well I was mostly kidding about the portal being under her lake, but 'other worlds' are essentially confirmed to at least exist thanks to Garon's statement regarding Kamui's sword after he gives it to him, something along the lines of it being 'infused with power from another world', although it's not clear how important that'll be the overall plot. And of course, the scene I mentioned in my last post about Azura swimming towards a portal underwater did happen.

True. I'm just... I think the right word is apprehensive, about alternate world playing a big part. To be fair, Fire Emblem has always had a bit of other world stuff like the Dragon world in Fire emblem 7 and the like, but I meant in the sense where I hope we aren't traveling to that alternate world to defeat the real evil or something. Because Awakening's final Boss essentially came to be only because

Lucina and her friends traveled back in time. If Grima hadn't followed them there would be no final boss and Grima may or may not have been revived (Remembering that Robin only lost his/her memory due to Grima trying to take him over too early after traveling back in time). He kind of did himself in which in hindsight is kind of... stupid for a supposed evil god dragon in opposition to Naga. Though with time travel shenanigans are bound to happen.

That's all I meant. I think. I'm not so sure myself. >_<

[Who will you have your avatar marry? (character spoilers possible)]

Well, this is only based off first impressions so I can't say it'll truthfully end up this way.

Hosido: Rinkah or Orochi (Kazehana being distant third). I'm a fan of strong women, usually sword users like Lyn in FE7. I'm also a sucker for pegsus knights like Florina and Cordelia. However, looking at the characters, I'm most interested in RInkah (Fire clan, isolationist and

You fight her and Kaze in chapter 2 of the campaign, if the treehouse footage was right.

and Orochi for the Old-fashioned speech. I usually enjoy seeing those characters appear in japenese and american stuff so I may choose her for the fun factor.

Nohr: Luna and Pieri (Though blue hair maid and wyvern rider I'd like more info on before I lock my first playthrough choice). Luna will be fun because

Like Cyrus/Silas she seems to have known you when you were younger if I remember some text during her intro or talking to her in my castle?

Also I did enjoy Severa and Robin's interaction whether normally or with him as her parent so this might be fun. Pieri is just an oddball, so my curiousity just kind of takes over there. I just have to know what the heck is up with that character.

Third Path: Azure or Felicia (I assume these two join you no matter what, so I'd save them for the third campaign I think.)

Now for female Avatar I'd have to think harder on it before deciding I think.

[We have the answer to "is marriage in this game?"]

^ I agree with all the points you made about the children regarding support quality, their insane power in Awakening, and that they should not play an important part in Fates' plot. But please refrain from making completely false statements such as:

because it will almost always cause the thread to be derailed by people telling you this isn't true by any means.

Well Lucina does indeed join you in the main plot. I meant to imply that you could skip the other children if you wanted since they are side chapter content. I understand most people won't nor do they feel they can, however. I often felt the same myself. I never skip them because I can't bring myself to.

I don't feel what I said was completely false, but I understand your concern. I'll try to word myself better. Thanks.

[Aqua and the Lake]

You make a compelling argument. I think the healing properties would make the most sense, since in some treehouse footage we see Kamui onlocking some 'healing spaces' with his dragon's vein. This seems to imply that healing spaces are a thing in this world, so for a lake to be able to heal her affliction or keep it at bay makes sense.

The portal argument also makes some amount of sense, but I kind of hope that isn't it. We had time travel last time, I'd like to avoid alternate universe as much as we can this time >_<

[We have the answer to "is marriage in this game?"]

Please excuse the long post I'm about to make. Warning: Spoilers about Awakening will be a big part.

For myself, I was a big fan of marriage in awakening. I didn't mind how it affected the children, and thought it was an interesting and fun change from the Fire Emblems I had played before. Saying that, I did expect marriage to return in this game for the bonuses to the attack/guard stance system. However, I did not expect children to return. Do I hate it? To be honest, I'm not entirely pleased, but I'm reserving judgment since all I know is they exist.

I am a... well I suppose I should call it 'second generation' Fire Emblem fan. I only played the games that were brought over to the US. I never played Geneology, I never played Binding Blade, and in spite of my love for the series, I never played the tellius games. Fire emblem always felt best on handheld to me, and I could never get into it on consoles.

My first game was Blazing Sword, followed by Sacred Stones. what drew me in for these was really the supports. While I did love the stories, the supports really sold it, making an army of people i cared about and wanted to survive. The paired endings were also a treat, though I often wished there were more pairings to choose from. I also had issues resetting every time a character in my army died, because I couldn't stand continuing even if I wasn't planning to use them again after that chapter.

So along comes Awakening. It added mechanics I loved. Casual mode, for me who didn't have the time to restart everytime I messed up or got someone killed while training them (Looking at you, Donnel and Olivia). The Avatar system, which to me was the tactician from FE7 fully realized (One of the things I hated most was that the tactician (You) couldn't support support with any of the characters you were supposedly so close to. I've even ended up novelizing the game in a fanfiction to try and make the tactician more interesting.) Skills, though a bit OP, were a great addition to make the classes more unique. I finally had a reason to use axe users outside of support grinding when in previous installments I always dropped them. The plot, though perhaps standard and a bit repetitive, was fun to play through and experience. The children characters and all of the side content on top of the main story was downright godly. You could pair almost anyone up as you pleased and recruit their offspring.

However, despite Awakening probably being my most played game, with over 500 hours logged on multiple playthroughs, I'm not blind to its shortcomings. While the Children character can be ignored if you so choose, that's not entirely the case on Lunatic and Lunatic plus. While these modes are a challenge, it's not because of the AI's tactics, its because of numbers, artificially boosted stats, and BS skills that are annoying to deal with. It's almost impossible to do these modes without insane grinding on DLC maps and the obtaining of the limit breaker skill for your entire team (generally the second gen, Chrom, his wife, Avatar and his wife (Who may be second gen if you chose that). The Children Characters apart from Lucina play no part in the overall story, which is a shortcoming, The fact that several character's supports are similar if not identical is also, although not entirely understandable, a shortcoming. For example, Olivia's supports are almost always about how shy she is as a person and nothing else. The two exceptions are Lon'qu and Robin, to my knowledge. This is not necessarily a shortcoming, but with unlimited supports it can become a case where people feel the characters are one-two note characters that don't change. This includes cases like Cordelia, who even after faaling in love/marrying another person her meeting with Severa and golden sparkly conversations (Along with a couple things in DLC) suggest Cordelia never does get over her love for Chrom, which begins to feel unfair to the character that married her.

Hopefully, this game improves a couple of things with supports. One: It's okay to have less S options. For example, character you get late in the game I don't necessarily mind them not having an S option. You aren't very likely to use them with the limited grinding Nohr's campaign will have, and hoshido should reflect that. Second: Marrying a character should give them a small bit more importance. I know this is extremely difficult, but even if it's just a scene with your wife/husband before the final chapter I think people would really like it much better. Thirdly, change up the dialogue a bit in golden sparkles or in chapters if the character is married. This is a little easier, and we only have one character with a plainly stated crush right now. Even if it's just a line or two, those small changes can make a difference. For example, isn't it a shame that your SPOUSE AND CHILDREN have nothing unique to say about their HUSBAND/PARENT Robin when they sacrifice themselves to destroy grima?

Finally, make this time a case where the children are fun extra units you get from marrying, but not essential to the game or plot. The Outrealms idea seems to indicate this, but This game just wasn't set up with a generation or time travel plot as a major focus. It'd be a shame to see one of those two elements overshadow this big theme about blood (Hoshido your birth family) vs. ties (The Nohr siblings who cared for you). Let's not forget the third DLC coming which is likely the fight everyone option.

In conclusion or a quick summary for those not interested in my rambling: I'm not sad to see marriage return because I love pairings and shipping. It's one of the main reasons I choose Fire emblem over other strategy games because of the deep characters and supports that can be offered. I am aphrehensive about the children returning, but I hope they will have no impact on the story as a hole, and will function more as an extra unit you get out of the marriage for those people who play on classic and do not reset when losing units. Heck, maybe the outrealm children (Or whatever they are) don't even need supports? If they are downplayed I think they won't be hated or called a repeat of awakening. Also hopefully they nerfed the insane power/stat bonuses/Skill inheritance the kids get.

[With apparently more restricted pairings this time around...]

Personally, while I know Lucina/Robin is a well liked pairing and I'm even guilty of taking it on one of my playthroughs, I'm not a fan of gen 1 marrying a gen 2 character. Sure, with the time travel or outrealm these characters are not the 'children' that are going to be born in this timeline/world, but it still brings up a weird feeling that I don't like. I think that would also be a good chance to cut down on the number of avatar supports so you could personalize them better.

Seriously, I'd like the male and female avatars to have mostly different supports with the characters. And better ones in some cases. Robin's supports with character like Sully were complete throw-aways when compared to ones like Female Robin/Lon'qu or Robin/Cordelia.

[Do you 'support' LGBT supports in "Fire Emblem: if"?]

I don't particularly care, and for that reason I see no reason not to say 'yes, the option should be there.'

The argument I most agree with is that not all characters should be accessible to the avatar, as tempting as that is. While I don't think sexuality should define a character, each character does have their own story and was raised a certain way. This is why they would be attracted to certain people. Maybe one good gay and lesbian option would be nice. TBF the last statistic I saw stated that only about 2% of the entire US population is gay/lesbian, so in terms of that having one for each seems like a decent way to go?

Maybe that's not enough, but I'm more worried about well-written characters and supports with maybe even a small impact those relationships should have in the overall story.

[Who do you fight for? :Relevant Title: Pick a Side]

I will probably try to get a special edition if the US gets one so I can play both sides at once.

However, of the two if I were to pick one right now I'd go with Nohr. Mostly because I could use the challenge but also because I know my friend who i got into fire emblem is likely to play Hosido since it'll be easier. That way we can chat and compare the campaigns.

But again, I want the special edition for both. Seriously even if it's 60 or something hopefully that will be a thing.

[World Map or No?]

I'm for a return to FE 8's world map with the shops only being available on the areas that had shops in them. I liked Awakenings shops on the map so I didn't have to worry about equipping characters during chapters, but at the same time getting equipment from places that couldn't possibly have shops (Like Mount Prism or the Tree area that lead to The Voice) was kind of weird.

As for the Gaiden chapters, those are hard for me to judge. 8 only really had one gaiden chapter, and while I like FE 7's gaiden chapters and they felt like they added a bit more depth to the story, it was never essential. Same with Awakening. The extra chapters were only that, extras. The only two that felt connected to the story in any way was the Donnel and Voice chapters, since those had effects on the rest of the party.

[Top 10 things I would like to see in Fire Emblem if]

I saw this and had to throw in my hopes. I notice a lot fo people calling for a return to form for Fire Emblem, and while I can't deny Blazing sword and Sacred Stones probably stick with me more than Awakening, Awakening is what stopped the franchise from going down the drain. With that in mind, I tried to think of changes while also knowing what was within the realm of possibility.

1. A more rounded Avatar. As a self insert, I think Robin is what made Awakening so successful, since people felt they were now directly connecting to the other characters with a character all their own. To improve on this, I would think of adding in a few things:

a. More custom hairstyles, colors, and perhaps even avatar builds. I was pretty satisfied with awakening's creation system, so I can't really say.

b. Choices in support conversation. To help the avatar seem more connected to the player, give them some choices in the support conversations with other characters. They shouldn't effect the outcome of the support (Like prevent it from increasing in rank) but offers people a bit of variation.

c. More story choices. Yes, the choices in Awakening did not have much impact on the events in the story. However even then it gave me more opportunities to choose how I would react. With the promise of more choices and more potential story impact in this next game, I think this is the most possible.

2. A nerf to the dual system. I agree it's too overpowered. For those who want to play the game with difficulty and don't use the grind items or grind DLC they should get their challenge. To that effect, this change and the next couple I hope will be for that. I wouldn't say remove the system, but nerf it.

3. Return the magic triangle. I sorely miss the magic triangle from the previous games in awakening. We need it back, to balance magic. Magic right now is vastly overpowered with almost no equal. If it becomes fire, wind, and lightning I'll be sad since the magic also suffered from bland final fantasy naming in Awakening, but before I complain about names and such I'd prefer having the triangle back.

4. A Taguel triangle. I don't want to see the more unique units get thrown out the window. I know at the end of the day you may have only one of each type, (Say Manakete, cat/bunny and bird-person or something) but that triangle can keep them from seeming overpowered as well, though I suppose managing their stone resource was hard before. Also, have their be enemies of these types as well.

5. one or two more "Build to win" characters. In the FE games, there's always a few untis you get that start off at a disadvantage, but become amazing with training. I'd like to see a few more of these types (Villager, Dancer, etc.)

6. More enemy types! Soldiers are well and good, but I also enjoyed fighting the monsters from Sacred stones just as much. The variation helped the game avoid becoming stale from fighting the same enemies over and over. The east vs. west is a good start, but I think if they add in Taguel enemies and monsters with various types like Sacred stones they could have the best enemy line-up yet.

7. Personally: No more child characters. Not just the ones from the future, but the characters drawn like Nowi and Ricken were. It doesn't sit well with myself or any of my friends who have played the game to send what looks like 12-year olds to their possible deaths. Yeah war can be nasty, but that's just cruel and unusual. No matter how old Nowi claims to be.

8. Recruitment of units should end around halfway through the game just like Awakening (Barring the extra characters of Say'ri, Tiki, Falvia, Basilio and the paralogue bonuses right before the final chapter). By the halfway point most people have figured out their team of characters and they aren't going to use new characters after that point because most of the time they just won't stack up. Add-in that none of those late additions had supports (Aside from Tiki kind of) and there's almost no reaosn for your team to keep recruiting past mid-game. It's also much more difficult to care about a guy you meet three chapter before the end then a guy you got in chapter 3 or 4. You're just more attached.

9. Keep Casual mode and grinding. While Classic will always be there for 'true' Fire Emblem players (Myself included) we shouldn't bar other people entry to the series. If Casual mode and being able to grind helps draw more people to Fire emblem, I'm all for it.

10. Female Lord as main hero. I've always preferred Lyn to Eliwood and Hector and Eirika to Ephraim, but there's no denying they've only been important for so many chapters before their man character mantle got taken from them. So this time, give it to a female Lord and Let her keep it.

Last but not least, and interesting possibility I heard is the Avatar may BE a Lord this time around. That would be pretty interesting in my book.