NekoKnight

I haven't played the Judgral saga nor many of the Akaneia games so I can't comment on their connection to each other but Dragon Laguz seem a significant departure from the dragons of other settings. As far as we know, Dragon Laguz don't need Dragon Stones nor do they inevitably go insane. Elibe dragons use dragon stones but there is no mention of them going crazy either. As far as Roy not being able to turn into a dragon, you could chalk that up to Ninian not existing when Roy was made. Branded in Tellius just seem like above average humans, since they can't transform, no matter how much Laguz blood they have.

Yes, but when you take admiration to such an extreme degree, it becomes disingenuous to say "She's totally straight, guys". If I made it my business to constantly talk about, stalk and grope other men, it would certainly give people good cause to think that I'm gay (and probably have deep psychological issues) but when Soleil does it, it's just her 'quirk'. As far as her falling in love with men (mostly suggested by the super dubious S supports that always make people fall in love?), yeah I can see her making the exception to men she really connects with but again, something is wrong when she doesn't have a single pairing of the orientation she professes so loudly to. At best she "grew out of loving women", and at worst she was always a fake lesbian/bisexual. Neither of those say good things about her portrayal. And now I've already talked too much about Soleil, more than I ever wanted to in a single year.

They probably could have made some interesting social commentary if she was forced into a hetero-normative role because of the society she lives in but she's just another anime trope. I just can't fathom why IS would design a character who is practically a lesbian (and the localization ramps this up even more) for a game that insists on pairing almost everyone in heterosexual relationships. If it weren't for children and eugenics, I'm sure IS would have more room to explore non-standard relationships.

Soleil is this anime archetype where you have this lust-filled pervert that chases other girls because girl on girl is cute/hot/funny. The major divergence from the way this character usually plays out is the focus they get. People like Soleil are usually just gag characters that don't get much attention nor development in their relationships (if they have any at all beyond harassing people). For the sake of eugenics however, Soleil needs to breed and this supposed lesbian-leaning bisexual is making an exception of EVERY SINGLE relationship she can have. To add insult to injury, she can't even pair with Femui who can be bisexual herself. Even if you like Soleil's archetype she's a poorly written example among them.

People on this forum know how much I rag on Fates' writing but it doesn't actually take the first place my least favorite Fire Emblem. I'd rank them: 1. Shadow Dragon 2. Revelation 3. Conquest While Conquest (and Fates as a whole) has the most offensively bad writing, it still has a story that engages the player and gameplay that is satisfying. Revelation and Shadow Dragon suffer from something worse than bad writing, they suffer from it being boring. So boring I don't want to even finish the game. Revelation has bad map design and character balance but it also features flexible team building. At the very top of the tower is Shadow Dragon which has a boring story and world, flat characters and not even the gameplay to make it satisfying. It's all kind of topsy-turvy, however. While Shadow Dragon is the worst FE (that I've played), it has the excuse of being a remake of the first game. Fates, while having mostly superb gameplay, is the absolute worst for writing quality and there are no excuses for how they could fail so utterly.

As someone who has watched every released episode of GoT and am working my way through the books, I find the TV show a lot easier to follow and form opinions on the characters than the books. It's interesting in its own way, to follow the story through the perspectives of individual character but a part of me likes the all-encompassing world/story view of the show better. It's definitely worth a watch.

Kind of a silly topic to be honest. You want to compare some of the best fantasy literature with some of the worst video game writing? Why are you even bringing up the topic if you haven't played Fates or watched/read all of GoT? Anyway, there is nothing definite to say ASOIAF is heading towards a "singing kumbaya with the white walkers" ending. ALT Shift X makes good analysis videos but they are merely speculation and should be taken with a grain of salt

Those are some interesting choices. I'd like to see where you take it.

I recall having one saved. I can look for it later today if someone hasn't responded to you by then.

They should have played up Hans as the villainous bro that sticks with you for a good portion of the campaign in Conquest. He's be Kamui without the pretensions of doing things for the greater good and be a catalyst for Kamui realizing how badly he's fucked up by supporting Garon. As is, Hans is just a bandit boss that somehow survived until endgame. For you Game of Thrones fans out there, think about the relationship Walder Frey has to Jamie and what their interactions do to provoke character development in the latter.

Perhaps in real life people would stick with what is familiar and do as they are told, morals be damned, but I don't think that makes a very good story. From the unbiased, omniscient gamer point of view, Hoshido is still the moral choice. You were kidnapped as a child, your mother sacrificed herself to save your life, your adoptive family has been lying to you and keeping you locked in a keep all your life. I think that's enough to at least question your place in life even if it didn't lead to an immediate defection.

Even if Garon were not trying very hard to murder you, the basic premise would be "Player's nation invades peaceful nation for no other reason than possibly greed". There would still be cause to sympathize with Hoshido, especially with the added detail that you were kidnapped as a child.

When Kamui explains her reasoning for choosing Hoshido, she brings up her mother and how evil Garon is. This is actually smart writing because at this point, she doesn't really know her "blood" siblings at this point. The title of Birthright is still false (and even Ryoma is aware of this) but Kamui's reasoning makes sense for the choice.

I see, I had forgotten the context of the conversation.

Good points. Lethe mentions (in a base conversation, maybe) that while she doesn't like Beorc, she acknowledges that some of their tools are useful, like a knife she uses to remove the seeds from a fruit. Does that imply that beast Laguz didn't have knives? Sothe implies that they can construct buildings using their immense strength but there is more to construction than just lifting stones. They must use tools of other kinds, so why does Lethe speak of knives like they are exotic?

The people who like Fates' story are afraid to come out because Thane is lurking in the tall grass, waiting to pounce.

This was the point I was trying to make. Obviously as sentient, moral beings, Laguz are going to be more civilized that literal beasts but they take cues from nature. As far as agriculture and construction are concerned, I took away that they generally don't use tools after Lethe said that she only begrudgingly acknowledges the usefulness of Beorc tools. The only buildings we see in Gallia, if I recall correctly, are the castle where the king lives and a run down fort (maybe not even built by them?)

This is a pretty significant point, though. I once made an attempt to collect every bit of world building in Fates. Several hours of reading supports later, I had completely given up as most of the supports were merely excuses for two people to talk and eventually shack up with each other. I'll read a novel's worth of good writing but I won't read a novel to find the 20 pages that aren't shit.

I was referring to the "strongest guy takes charge", although I understand real life lions are pretty brutal. At any rate, we don't know much about their society so we can only make guess about how it functions.

That would be pretty cool. I don't think ALL chapters need to be so multilayered but a few maps with evolving conditions would be welcome.

Yeah, I can't really agree with locking supports until other characters get them first. It's too restrictive to make players use and support characters in a specific sequence just to make a continuous character arc. There isn't really a way to preserve significant character growth for supports so they should instead focus on more multifaceted characters. Rather than a character talking about their quirk and deconstructing it, have them talk to different people about different things, or at least not commit to immediate change in their character. Although it wasn't a perfect system, Path of Radiance at least had the interesting idea of tying supports to plot progress by requiring a certain about of chapter to beat for each support.

Isn't Gallia just a mirror of social hierarchies we see in real life animals, specifically lions? Sure, Laguz are sentient but the logic seems to be that they are a warrior society that value strength before anything else. Savage by Beorc standards? Probably but maybe their society is really that simple. We don't really see what living as a Laguz is like but my impression was they live naturalistic lives without anything that would lead to social unrest like wealth disparity or bad social policies. It helps that they are reclusive so they don't have to deal with outsiders very often. I'm sure they could have gone more into the workings of their society to see if it is truly as ideal as it seems but it would probably distract from the greater narrative being told. The human conflicts going on, combined with their relation to the Laguz is a lot to talk about already. This is how I feel on game stories. You can have a common plot but the telling is what's important. Take the game Dragon Age Origins, it's the story of an army of darkness invading the land and requiring you to gather allies amongst elves, dwarves and men to fight them. The player classes are even rogue, mage and warrior! With just that description, I'd skip the title in a heartbeat but there is SO MUCH world building and well written dialogue that it's a good story even if the plot is something you've heard a thousand times.

I've heard it mentioned before that making so many of the cast into retainers was a mistake because it limits the scope of how characters can be recruited and where they come from. So, if you had to choose only one retainer and reassign the others to different roles, what would you do? This is how I'd break it down. [spoiler= All Routes] Kamui Retainer - Silas: Your childhood friend who will follow you regardless of your route choice. Others - Flora, Jacob and Gunter are castle staff that aren't specifically beholden to you, although they are still close. They can probably be recruited later, regardless of route. Felicia is cut because she's redundant with Flora. Azura Retainer - Kaze: Azura's bodyguard as much as he is there to prevent her from escaping, although he's quite amiable about it. Others - N/A [spoiler=Nohr] Xander Retainer - Laslow: Xander's right hand man who has a respectable image but can help his lord relax at times. No relation to his Awakening counterpart. Others - Pieri: A noble arrested and awaiting her execution for her murdering her maids. She's freed from jail to aid in the war effort because Nohr needs every soldier it can get. Camilla Retainer - Beruka: A cold-hearted assassin and fellow dracoknight. She represents Camilla's more ruthless side and carries out secret killings for her. Others - Selena: Mercenary looking to find a profit from the increased tensions between Nohr and Hoshido. Probably in league with Charlotte. Leo Retainer - Niles: Former thief recruited by Leo to better understand the darker side of Nohrian society and reflects his pragmatic nature. Others - Odin: Dramatic dark mage recruited from Nohr's royal mage academy. Probably studied under Iago for a time. Elise Retainer - Elfie: Elise's sworn protector and Nohr's most noteworthy knight. She does even lift. Others - Arthur: A wandering, justice seeking fighter who aids local villages from bandits. He joins the war effort as a more permanent solution to Nohr's poverty. [spoiler=Hoshido] Ryoma Retainer - Saizo: Like Giffca (PoR) before him, he's the shadowy bodyguard to his master. He remains vigilant of enemies, both from Nohr and Hoshido. Others - Kagero: Another ninja in service to the royal family (she probably answers to Yukimura) whose specialty is infiltration and espionage. Hinoka (why is this so hard to choose a 'good' retainer?) Retainer - Setsuna: An adept hunter (if not clumsy in most other regards). She reflects her master's division between fighting competency and other life skills. Others - Asama: A formally reclusive monk that has grown disillusioned to his faith and wants to follow other pursuits. Takumi Retainer - Oboro: Raised to 'noble' status for defending a prince of Hoshido from bandits (yes, even Hoshido has those). She's secretly infatuated with Takumi. Others - Hinata: A ronin who is seeking new master. His detachment from formal employment has led to a more carefree disposition. Sakura Retainer - Hana: Noble-born samurai assigned to protect Hoshido's youngest princess. They are of a similar age and grew up close to each other. Others - Tsubaki: Another noble-born warrior who Sakura was promised to for marriage when she comes of age. He fights in the Pegasus Corps under Reina.

Even if Kamui were an enforced sorta-pacifist, it still wouldn't explain how or why his other soldiers don't kill. I can believe him sparing SOME people but sparing everyone is absurd. Maybe this Mercy skill could give you bonus exp in lieu of the exp you'd get for a normal kill. The attack would do less damage but result in the enemy being removed from the field, the same way the Capture skills work.

Hype was part of the problem but the game wouldn't have stood up to criticism, even if we had no expectations. Birthright is the Fates strongest portion and the best anyone can say about it is that it's unremarkable. The runner up is Conquest whose best defense is "At least they tried something different?" The only winners in this situation are those who don't care about video game stories.