NekoKnight

IS is responsible for people thinking it would be the second coming of sliced bread, however. Hiring a professional "big name" writer and splitting the game into 3 parts had many of us convinced of their genuine effort to make the story good.

Unit-wise, I would say Setsuna is the worst. There is no reason not to use her over Takumi. Nyx is also feeble but she can at least kill things and she doesn't have a lot of competition early on (Odin is bad and Camilla should be going physical more often than not). Portrayal-wise: Whoo boy, where to start. Story-wise, Xander has a clear lead for being a impossibly thick-headed hypocrite and leading to a lot of unnecessary drama but Kamui and Azura get (dis)honorable mentions for their contributions to the plot. Personality-wise, Pieri and Asama are some of the worst characters I have ever experienced, the former being a childish psychopath that no one treats as such and the latter being douchebag supreme (Asama x Hinoka and Asama x Sakura, holy shit!). Neither get the punishment they really deserve, save for optionally killing Pieri in Birthright.

This is the central weakness of the story. Despite Fates spanning 3 games, it was actually a massive scale reduction compared to past Fire Emblems. Most of the bosses you fight are your siblings or random generics with no lines (Faceless or Invisible Soldiers). There is no feeling that Nohr and Hoshido are living nations, it's just people who are directly relevant to the Avatar. How is it that in 3 games we have only 4 true villains (Garon, Hans, Iago and Anankos) none of whom are particularly interesting? Even the supporting cast is weak since the majority are the personal retainers of your siblings. There are only 2 major factions and we learn so little about either of them that the world feels empty and without character. So what we have left is a personal conflict and no overarching sense of purpose in the world. But even that story is told poorly. It's a black and white conflict that uses the deaths of the Avatar's loved ones as cheap fuel for drama. Don't get me started on how morally perverse the story is. Fates is practically a manual on how to do everything wrong in a Fire Emblem story.

I meant to imply it would effect a single, subsequent chapter, not all chapters thereafter. Alternate chapters would also be an option but it would take more development time than just altering the strength of enemies on a preexisting map. BEXP would be great for optional objectives, though. Rather than an instant game over, I'd prefer a switching of priorities. After the enemy reinforcements show up, the victory condition becomes Escape with it being up to the player how long they want to stick it out before getting out of there.

It's not Fire Emblem unless "S rank a sibling" is a victory condition. The technical victory condition is just how the chapter ends. A chapter might be a defend chapter in all but name, even if technically it's a rout map (Tiki's Awakening chapter). More important than the victory condition is how the chapter requires/encourages you to play. Yes, the scenarios I came up with could fit under preexisting victory conditions but hopefully they would play differently. I don't think any of the Seize chapters we've had are any different than Rout unless you are doing LTC or are just impatient. Bolded: I didn't really like that chapter in RD because to get to the boss you had to cut straight through the army of people you are trying not to kill. For all my efforts not to massacre them, I'm sure I spared 3 enemies. The PoR hostage chapter could at least be completed with careful unit placement and weapon choice.

One problem with certain maps with non-rout objectives is that you can still (and should, for exp) clear the map by killing every enemy. I think IS should try making more maps where it isn't possible or recommended to kill all the enemies because they are either too numerous or too powerful. Defend and Escape are obvious candidates but they could do other things like Raid (kill/destroy select targets to clear the map) or Rescue (sneak into a place to save a captured ally). Here are some basic scenario pitches: -The enemy has your castle under siege with a large force so you must sneak out and destroy their supplies so they starve or retreat. -Soldiers/citizens from your country were forcefully conscripted into the enemy army. Your goal is to avoid fighting them and assassinate the enemy general -The main enemy force is too large to engage directly but by taking advantage of fog-of-war you can ambush them and capture their commander (to be used as a hostage later). Edit: It would also be neat if later maps were effected by how well you cleared a prior map. For example, if you raided more of the enemy supplies, the enemies in the later map would have worse equipment or lower stats.

I think these are unfair assumptions. When you say POR "tries" an examination, that suggests that was a significant purpose of the story (it's a coming-of-age story nestled in a world war), when these elements were merely featured. As far as Laguz societies being utopias, I think that's more a matter of them being out of focus. Lets take a look at Sacred Stones. Frelia, Rausten, Jehanna don't show any indication of internal conflict but you wouldn't assume they are utopias just because the story doesn't look into them.

Hm, I can't say that Path of Radiance resembles any Berserk story arc. Guts does start off as a mercenary and works his way up in society but the similarities between the two tales are superficial at best. I can see some visual similarities between adult Ike and Guts, with the build, short hair and large sword in common. Berserk, particularly the Golden Age arc, could very easily have been a Fire Emblem story, but better told. Go read Berserk now. I'll keep plugging this series until the day I die.

I thought they had an ambiguous but close relationship It's true that Micaiah is the older of the two and played some part of raising him, but the adult Sothe acts as much a guardian to Micaiah as she does an older sister. I didn't take away an explicit sibling relationship so much as them being very supportive of each other. As for Micaiah x Pelleas, it's hard to imagine a relationship between them when they are such polar opposites. Micaiah is driven and charismatic, whereas Pelleas is helpless and only had anyone's respect because Micaiah was backing him.

Hm, while sometimes less is just less, I would argue that it's easier to write fewer solid supports than many good ones. I suppose ideally characters would have around 5-6 support options to give them enough characterization but not force them to interact with people who they share no chemistry with.

If one is to like Pieri and think she's a good person at heart, you're going to have to accept that she's an unrepentant serial killer, past and present. Mind you, I don't think liking morally perverse characters means you approve of such things in real life, but within the context of the story, Pieri is a villain, who, like many Fates characters, has her villainy ignored. Yo Ghast, hook me up with those character analysis', I'll peer review your stuff.

Games or other media? Games can be a bit limited in story but there are games that excel in certain categories. I'd call the The Last of Us a brilliant character story. For other media, the Berserk manga (and first anime series) is absolutely superb for character writing and story.

If you care to, give the game another play through with an open mind. I didn't think highly of Tellius when I first played through it but nowadays I have a deeper appreciation for the writing. I think she's one of the better written Fire Emblem protagonists in terms of her nuance and relationship with others. There is a lot to talk about concerning her, specialness be damned. It's possible but I don't think it's directly stated either. I was assuming that the throne passed through the male line but it could be that the royal lineage came from Arete instead. I'd assume that at the very least Mikoto and Arete are from a noble family but unless they are the royal family, Kamui doesn't have a real claim besides the fact that he's one of the last two people alive in the whole country.

A main character should have some specialness, that's why the story is about them. More damaging to a narrative than a character's specialness itself is how it affects the world. Micaiah has special traits but she's not the envy of the entire world for them. She's popular in Daein because of her deeds and they need someone to lead and inspire them, and no one else likes her. I'm not sure why you would say that these traits define her when we see her personality come out countless times. She can be snarky, kind, reckless, eager and uncompromising when it comes to protecting people. She shows inner conflict in her desire to avoid war but also defend her countrymen. That's plenty of character right there and I don't even need to talk about her specialness. Y'know, apart from Valla being a country with no land, populated by no people, the funniest thing about Kamui becoming its monarch is that he wasn't even in the line of succession. If we assume that Anankos is a usurper and not a true king, the line of succession passes to Azura, and Kamui shares no blood with the royal family. Enjoy your free kingdom, asshole!

It's not the holy grail of story telling but it's competent and the world made memorable through effective world-building.

This is going to be a bit subjective but I'll go through the points. -Silver hair: Distinct but in a technicolor hair population, it's not THAT special. -Prophetic healer and people's hero: This is in line with her being a Joan of Arc archetype. She's rallying point for her people because she's fighting for their liberation, not because she has magical charisma. Her powers are pretty minor, the ability to see hazy visions and heal people at the expense of her own health. -Skilled strategist: I wouldn't say she's particularly skilled, at least no greater than the typical FE protagonist. She may in fact be a bit reckless, requiring Sothe's caution to balance out her eagerness to help people. -Branded: I don't think she needed this. It didn't add anything to her character. -True apostle and relationship with Yune: I also don't think she needed this but it might be considered kind of clever because she had unexplained prophetic powers up to this point. As for her relationship with Yune, that can be inferred to be tied to her apostle status. Of those 5 bullet points, only 2 of them are very objectionable and they aren't relevant to character until what, part 4?

While "Pieri is an awful character" might be easily deduced, it's helpful to consider other characters and why their behavior isn't consistent with tolerating Pieri. I think the way to make her not essentially Hans with pigtails is to remove her killing of innocents. Henry has a morbid sense of humor but afaik he never says that he has or definitely will harm innocents. Reina similarly has a perverse interest in killing but it's limited to fighting enemies, not people who bother her. Had they made her essentially Reina or replace her penchant for murder with having a hair-trigger temper (and taking her rage out on objects, not people) I could at least buy her being in the army, even if she's still unfitting as the crown prince's retainer. Really, she should have just been a random soldier you recruit and someone like Benny being Xander's retainer.

While I agree that it was overdone, most Micaiah's specialness isn't really central to her character or even talked about until much later (all the heron branded stuff or being the true apostle). For most of the game she's just a Joan of Arc archetype with hazy prophetic powers and the ability to heal others. I don't think it's even in the same ballpark as Kamui.

I don't see why being depressed would absolve Garon of his invasion of Hoshido. Even if Iago was pushing the agenda, Garon would still be responsible for what his nation does. This "direct reference to" a character archtype doesn't justify or require the awful writing we got in Fates. Garon makes several attempts to murder Xander's foster sibling before the route split and he very openly wants Kamui to suffer and die despite his continued display of loyalty. Garon is needlessly cruel at best and insane at worst. Whoa Whoa Whoa, That's where you're wrong, kiddo. Vigarde being controlled by Formortiis isn't known to most people and iirc, he and the Sacred Stones true purpose have practically fallen into legend. As far as anyone besides maybe Knoll and Lyon knows, they're just invading the other nations, not fighting to revive the Demon King. Selena is a better Camus than Xander because she acknowledges the immorality of her actions and she explains her motivation clearly. Vigarde saved her from starvation and poverty so she loved the man. She understands that Vigarde probably won't change but can't bring herself to oppose the man who gave her life back. We never hear in detail what Garon was like in the past to sympathize with Xander's loyalty and his present state is so "MWA HA HA" evil that it defies belief that any moral person would follow him. Xander's "I can fix him" is the absurd belief that somehow taking over the continent will make his dad sane again. "For the greater good of Nohr" also has almost no explanation besides one line in Birthright that suggests Nohrians envied Hoshido's resources. I wanted to believe that resources would be a central motivation for Nohr, but that just isn't what the game wants to talk about. I explained Selena and Thane already brought up Hetzel. That definition of "twisted" is no different than mind control. All of Anankos' puppets are completely loyal to him. What compelled Scarlet or any of the other invisible soldiers to fight you? I don't think it's fair to say "Yeah, Sumeragi was a total asshole" after looking at his possessed form. No one was in their right mind, even if they maintained some semblance of their past personality.

I think the plot of Conquest is more frustrating than heartbreaking for spoiler reasons. I wasn't very phased by the deaths in Fates because I felt there wasn't enough build up, as though they were just thrown in for the sake of having a higher death count. If you found Birthright sad, there are likely things in Conquest that will resonate with you. It's worth playing for the gameplay at least.

In regards to making Xander a more agreeable character, I don't think there is any avoiding rewriting Garon. Even if you were to give him some flash-backs to his more reasonable days, the Garon of the present day is a laughing-mad tyrant. It's just too much for Xander, or anyone, to ignore and pretend things will be hunky dory if we just take over the world. Garon needs to be evil, but with a purpose. All this "HAHAHAH, I want Kamui to suffer and die! Oh, didn't see you standing there, Xander. Uh... OBEY ME OR YOU WILL BE DESTROYED!" needs to go. It completely destroys Xander's credibility when he handwaves Garon wheezing like a man possessed (because he is!) about destroying his own country, as him "not feeling well". The best thing about Vigarde was that his behavior, despite being different than his past self, still seemed like something a rational minded ruler would do. He didn't go out of his way to torture his loyal servants nor cackle insanely whenever he did something evil. This is only implied for people who are still living. Gunter and Takumi were corrupted but the other characters were already dead and under the complete control of Anankos. If you think they merely had their traits amplified, then you will have to suggest that some part of Mikoto wanted to deceive and murder her beloved Kamui, which is ridiculous.

I don't think "FE isn't a worse series than FFT" is going to be unpopular on a Fire Emblem fan website.

Are these not contradictory statements? It wasn't stupid of IS to get rid of Kaga if keeping him on would lead to the series' discontinuation.

I'm going to agree with others and say that: -There should be fewer siblings total. Merge Leo into Camilla and Hinoka into Ryoma. -Valla and all associated elements should be cut. -Azura is a Garon's daughter and Kamui is Sumeragi's son/daughter. -Kamui's dragon form is from recessive genes and not super special exotic parentage. So here's where things get interesting. MOST sibling marriages should be unavailable but there are two exceptions: Leo and Camilla. Why those two, you may wonder? What I'm imagining is that Kamui (depending on their respective gender) is married off to one of the two siblings to form an alliance with the losing country. Kamui is a Hoshidan prince(ss) and Leo and Camilla (who both survive, even in Birthright) are Nohrian royalty. Regardless of how they may feel personally, they have an obligation to marry to support political alliances. There is no reason for Kamui to marry any of the Hoshidans however. Sorry for ruining the symmetry but story trumps pandering (in my ideal world). EDIT: I guess you could S-supprt Azura too, or write her out entirely. I don't really care, especially since Valla is gone.

If you have the DLC, you could make Zellos/Kratos/Asch Grandmasters. Jade could be a Dark Falcon too.