NekoKnight

Ninian vs Corrin was my personal favorite. Now that was a close match. If it's about supporting your favorites over the results, then people wouldn't be up in arms about losing because of a multiplier. I aIways vote for my favorite, but it's a little depressing going in knowing from the start that they'll lose.

I think this was an interesting match. Team Shanna managed to rally their way to a victory, but she wouldn't even have the chance without multipliers.

Shannas can't melt steel Takumis. Maybe VG changes will be announced in the next FEH channel.

Haha, well done Team Shanna! You have been blessed by the Rally Man! Sadly, I think those types are rather common. People will be happy their team advanced, even if was only thanks to a multiplier, but if they lose to one, then they call shenanigans.

When life gives you lemons, demand life take the lemons back! I do hope they eventually make the event performance in based over team size. But in the meantime, GO TAKUMI!

I'd like to remind you fine folks that these close matches are thanks to the multiplier. Without them it would have been a curbstomp for Ryoma. If you are excited about the uncertainty of this match and still critical of the multiplier, you're a hypocrite.

I guess one could argue he's perfect because he doesn't suffer serious consequences from his flaws (personally, I think the story justifies why he doesn't get seriously punished).

While I can agree with @Thane that Anankos is one of the worst villains because he devalues two other games, for the actual worst written villain, I have to say Iago. The problem with Iago that makes him worse than any other villain is that he has no motives. We've had people who are evil because they want power, we've had people who are evil because they worship evil deities, and we've had people who are 'evil' in that they're so insane, they become more a force of nature than a sentient being. Shallow as some of these villains might be, they still have motives. Iago spends all three Fates routes antagonizing the player but he doesn't seem to have a reason for it, and sometimes it's actually self-destructive. Even in the route where you're allied with him, he seems devoted to making the protagonist miserable. I wouldn't have minded so much if he directed his cruelty at the Hoshidans you encounter but he actually impedes his own allies. It reaches such absurd levels of pettiness and lack of self-preservation that he attempts to kill ALL of Garon's children because SURPRISE, they weren't about to let him murder Corrin on a loose pretense. Even if he was successful, he'd then have to explain to Garon that he just murdered all his kids (Garon wouldn't care, but Iago doesn't know that). He loses nothing by not attacking Corrin and friends, and has everything to lose by attacking them. This is what I can only describe as mindless malice. He's a worse written character than actually insane villains because he doesn't have an excuse for such suicidal behavior. Sorry to quote an old post but can I ask why you like Anthony? You say it's the fault of Fates' bad writing that Anthony is disliked, but he just comes across as one-dimensional to me.

She states that she was treated kindly by Daeins after the MKA war, and was inspired by their support of each other during hard times. Micaiah doesn't really have a country to call home, so she just settled there by chance it seems. Call it a compassion for humanity in general. There is an atmosphere of bigotry in the general population, but there are many kind Daeins as well.

That's the point I'm making. The Daein people are comfortable enough going to war with the Laguz, and they wouldn't be so enthusiastic to side WITH the Laguz, especially if it made an enemy of the much stronger Begnion. I do think you need a bigger stakes threat for Micaiah, however. If Daein sided with Begnion without any coercion, Micaiah would seem like a jerk for standing by them.

I think the story we got flows naturally. If they cut Ike and replaced him with Lucia, Elincia would still be in the role of a helpless damsel. You could spend more time developing Elincia into a self-reliant lord, but it's still a common FE protagonist journey. Elincia finishing PoR as a more confident but still inexperienced sovereign had a nice pay off in RD, where her lack of skill in governance allows a rebellion to form. You wouldn't have so satisfying a conclusion if Elincia's development was already finished by the end of PoR.

I think it works well enough. Obviously Daeins wouldn't appreciate having a metaphorical gun at their back, but Micaiah has reason to side with the nation that is most likely to win the war. There is also the matter of culture and recent events. Daein is still a racist country and recently invaded Crimea. Micaiah didn't have much reason to expect Crimea to sympathize with them, nor could she expect her citizens would more eagerly ally with sub-humans Laguz, than Begnion who are similarly racist. I mean, that pretty much is how it works. The signer doesn't even need to be aware of the contents of the contract for it to take effect. I think it's more compelling story telling when the signer thinks they're getting their money's worth, but realizes later how badly they screwed themselves over (not the villain going "lmao, I lied, you shoulda read the fine print"). The question is, what could the signer be getting that would make "eternal servitude to another sovereign" worth it? They should at least stipulate time limits on those things. I think the biggest thing is the uncertainty. We the players know that FE wars don't last that long (which is more a matter of easier story telling rather than realistic logistics) but Micaiah doesn't know how long it could go on. Her misjudgement could cause the literal extinction of her people.

In regards to the Blood Pact situation, I think the story either needs to explain what reason a person would have to sign one or get rid of them. In the 3 instances of a blood pact being used, we never learned what the signer had to gain from it. I can understand Pelleas being dumb enough to sign one, but there was no excuse for the King of Kilvas or Ashnard's father to. It's an interesting plot device in its mechanics but we need a better excuse for the plot than "because people are dumb". As an alternative option to the Pelleas contract, they could instead have Lekain threaten a second invasion of Daein, promising Micaiah that this time, they won't be occupying the country, it will be a genocide of the Daein people. Micaiah would then realize that for all her efforts to liberate the country, they were only independent in name. From there the plot could go on the same.

The awkward moment when you somehow quote the wrong person and a conversation starts up with someone you didn't mean to talk to. That Lucia stuff was directed @Silver-Haired Maiden If they gave the DB more screentime, I'm sure they could give Nolan more of a role. Though in Micaiah's defense, she's probably as old, if not older than Nolan, so I think she has the wisdom to lead. Robin isn't evil in Awakening, but a version of them becomes a vessel for Grima, presumably against their will. Also, while I consider Conquest!Corrin a villain, the game is very unambiguous in framing them as a flawless hero. I don't think Micaiah's portrayal is particularly negative. She goes against Ike, and some people in story mistake her as being malicious, but we know she's a good person. If you want an example of a unreasonably flawed female protag, I would use Celica as an example. I'm going to feel like a jerk for doing this, but I don't think your suggestions for changing the RD story are very reasonable. This is silly. Begnion could call her bluff immediately and activate the blood pact until she changes her mind. Even if Daein joined the Laguz Alliance, Micaiah doesn't know how long the war could last. The blood pact that affected Kilvas went on for 100 days, and wiped out HALF the population. Wars can last years. She has no leverage here, and the Senate knows this. Why would Micaiah by herself be a threat? Why would anyone believe Micaiah even if she knew this information? Unless Yune can do a magic trick to show everyone in Begnion that Micaiah is legit, she has nothing to back up her claim.

I've probably asked you before, but what do you think sets Elincia apart from every other protagonist? Displaced royalty fleeing to other countries to recruit allies and liberate their home country has been the protagonist mold since FE1. Elincia is even more typical than Ike.

I say the difficulty modes should be: Casual, Classic (with turnwheel), Classic, and Ironman. They ought to include additional gameplay rewards depending on what difficulties you complete.

Another key difference is that as soon as Micaiah learns about the Blood Pact, she starts researching a way to undo it. Corrin and Azura make no effort to work arround the Valla Curse.

Well, now I'm upset. If anyone deserved to double upset, it was Soren, not Shanna! Can't a guy win unfair and square!? Though it might be fun to be on Team Desperation Fodder for the potential of a tripple upset, this makes me want to support Takumeme. I dunno, I think you could cut Hinoka out of Fates and nothing would change. She's a "main" character by association with other characters (Takumi>Ryoma>Sakura=Hinoka for plot relevance), but she's really nothing special. For all the talk of a lack of gay representation in media, people are even less likely to allow for platonic love or asexuality. I never saw Ike x Soren as romantic, although I won't shame some fans for prefering that interpretation.

Radiant Dawn definitely confuses his characterization, but his rivalry in PoR (and parts of Radiant Dawn) is well written. I enjoy their battle dialogue in both games which highlights that their personal mission is to be the best swordsman (ie better than Greil). BK isn't as compelling a foil to Micaiah because Micaiah's status as a Branded is only a part of her character (her larger concern is protecting her people) where one could argue that BK's character is far more influenced by his Branded status. Hm, I'm a bit iffy on this characterization (although I would have liked for Ashnard to have that dialogue with Ike, even if nothing else was changed in the story). I don't think Ashnard would particularly identify with commoners over nobles. He doesn't want commoners to advance, he wants the strong, no matter who or what they are, to rule over the weak. The guy is a crazy motherfucker (you'd have to be to want to use Lehran's Medallion), so I don't feel the need to insert some superiority complex (from BK) in order to justify why he wants to reshape the world. We'll have to agree to disagree, but I think Ashnard and BK's traits work better in separate characters.

I'm more bothered by the daily 5 flags.

Soren overshot, it's all ogre now. Still, I'm happy enough to lose to another character I like. Time to join Team Traitor for his sick spins. Is Takumi more popular than Amelia?

The post chapter 16 script communicates what you're saying. Essentially its "Your faith in people helped make this army possible, but you really should be more careful." The post chapter 17 script, however, takes it to a new level. Here they insist that if Corrin tried to fix his flaw, it would be a net loss because they like him as an all-trusting messiah figure. They say they'll bail him out no matter how badly he messes up, denying him any character growth.

Objection! The conclusion of Part II was a powerful scene for both Elincia and Lucia, and it was not at all invalidated just because Lucia survived. Elincia proved to herself and her subjects that she is a strong leader, and Lucia made a badass speech and showed absolute loyalty, even though she expected to die. ----- Concerning my thoughts on Micaiah, I'd say she's one of my favorite protagonists. I'm quite fond of the Jeanne of Arc archetype, and the determination and selflessness she showed was endearing. She's like Conquest Corrin but infinitely better executed. They did stack a few too many special traits on her but it didn't affect the plot in a negative way. For the Ike vs Micaiah rivalry, I think it's good that that you play both from Ike's perspective and hers. One of Radiant Dawns strong points is showing you different perspectives and how morally good people can still become enemies. I do wish Micaiah had more screen time, however. I might be one of the few people who liked Sothe and his relationship with Micaiah. Micaiah was the reckless savior and Sothe the cautious realist. Later, Micaiah becomes shackled with pragmatic concerns and it's Sothe who has to slap some morality into her. I thought Sothe's protectiveness was endearing rather than controlling or weird. They were separated once and rely on each other more than anyone else. Of course Sothe is protective. I'll even buy their potential to become romantic as their relationship is ambiguously described by Sothe in PoR.

I feel Ike's character would be lesser if Ashnard took BK's scenes. Yes, Ike would be just as eager to grow stronger and defeat Ashnard, but you'd miss out on a deeper connection Ike has with BK. Both Ike and BK studied under Greil and neither of them could really match him before he died. Ike wants to become as strong as he can be to live up to his father's legacy as does BK to prove he is the best swordsman. Ashnard doesn't care about mastery of technique, he just wants to create a dog-eats-dog world. Ike would oppose him, but it would be as any other protagonist would. "Ashnard is evil, so I must stop him."

This, especially the last paragraph. Soren is a unique character, particularly when surrounded by honorable, heroic types.