NekoKnight

As others have said, before you get to endgame or cheat by buying skills the best healing skills are Renewal, Even Better, Better Odds and Live to Serve (for staff users, obviously). Sol is still a worthy skill but Renewal is the more reliable option.

I would endorse these "training" weapons, but there needs to be more to use in E rank than just those, otherwise it's just an extra bar of wexp that you need to grind through to get to the weapons you want to use.

I've never had a problem with the reason why Pelleas signed it, sorry if I didn't make that clearer. It's not about his character (he's dumb but that's a very deliberate part of the story), it's how major conflicts are created though simple character ineptitude. This mistake is repeated in Fates when two thirds of the game only happen because Azura didn't try to share her information. It's contrived and bad writing.

Weapons: Bronze weapons could be made a whole lot better by removing that stupid "no critical/no skill proc" trait. Personally I'd rather just see E rank removed entirely, or at least make all promoted classes have a minimum of D rank in applicable weapons. For the forging issue, I'd get rid of the "combine two of the same weapon" mechanic and just have you alter existing weapons. The resources could still be from melting down unused weapons, but instead the resource could be from any weapon. Let's say you could get rid of those iron axes you don't need to buff your steel sword. Personal skills: Personal skills should create a unique niche for that character, something that can be exploited to maximize their potential. Beruka's personal skill is what I'd describe as the perfect type, something that you can activate at will and lets her perform better in a certain play style. Selena's is the worst kind, something that will rarely activate, can't be controlled and will have minimal effect. Pair-up: Now that Fates has made so many improvements on the mechanic, I would be happy to see pair-up for at least another game. It's good for the games to innovate but it would be a waste, in my opinion, to toss out all the progress they made on it after two games. I describe them as a decent idea but in need of a little refinement. Some DVs are fairly pointless, only helping the player and just an extra condition of playing the map efficiently. Others do require strategic timing (such as the wind level in Conquest) or can be exploited by the enemy to make your life harder (the infamous C10). I agree on the special-snowflake issue however.

If you want to ask people about their stories or opinions, it's customary to give your own first. Especially if you're going to lead with "I have two stories".

I'd rather have a game with the conflicts mentioned but not directly shown (such as the original war between Yune and Ashera's forces) than alternate outcomes of canon stories. It was fine for Awakening because alternate timelines was a part of that game's plot, but I don't want to see anymore multiverse shenanigans.

What I mean is, while I can acknowledge that it's in-character for Pelleas to be painfully naive, the fact that the fate of a nation can be decided by a signature on a paper by someone who isn't even aware of what he's signing (and for that matter, someone who isn't even the true heir to the throne) is just too convenient. Pelleas' mistake is reasonable, but the consequences of his mistake are absurd. Imagine if the Blood Pact was verbal and Izuka said "a-slave-to-Begnion-says-what", "What?" Pelleas responds. "Haha, got you! Now you must serve Begnion forever!" Does that sound silly? That's essentially what happens in the game, the only difference is he signed a paper he didn't understand.

Considering this information comes from Erik of Laus, it's a safe guess to say that he didn't fully understand the situation or was telling a skewed version just to spite Eliwood.

I'd say the main reason people don't like it is that the writing is too convenient. Is it reasonable that Pelleas, from his point of view, would trust Izuka? Yes. But isn't that too easy that an entire country can be forced into compliance with another, indefinitely, just because a paper was signed, without the signer even needing to realize what they're doing? It's not that the villains succeed due to their brilliance or that the victims made flawed but understandable judgements, it's just that they were dumb. I could have swallowed the Blood Pact easier had Pelleas been given reasonable incentive to sign it, not realizing the full cost until it's too late (y'know, standard demonic contract) but as is, it's just a "Haha, gotcha!" moment from Lekain, and doesn't feel at all earned.

I don't know if these all qualify as the "best" plot point but they are things they are strong elements that I wouldn't want change. Blazing Sword: The Black Fang dynamic. I like how tight-nit the original members are and how the organization changes over time because of Nergal's influence. Sacred Stones: Lyon's death. I cried like a bitch when I couldn't prevent it but that sealed the deal on an already tragic character. That may be one of the most moving deaths in the series, in fact. Path of Radiance: The nuanced factions. None of the countries (except for the Beasts, Hawks and Dragons, whom we don't really learn a lot about) are 100% good or bad and that makes for solid world building. Radiant Dawn: Micaiah's story arc and her relationship with Sothe. Her forced cooperation with Begnion is how Conquest should have played out. Awakening: Walhart's and Chrom's philosophical differences. Birthright: Ryoma in full general armor ganking Leo Elise not being a stubborn moron and actually trying to deescalate the conflict. Conquest: Takumi calling out Kamui for being the shitty person he is. Revelation:Azura not hiding secrets anymore...?

There were three Blood Pacts. One for the raven laguz, one for the former king of Daein (Ashnard used it to kill off all the heirs to the throne before himself) and the one Pelleas signs. Somehow, 3 people in charge of nations weren't able to read the contracts they were signing. According to the wiki, all three people were "tricked" into signing the contracts, and got nothing in return for it. That's not making a deal with the devil, that's the devil saying "Hey, gimme your soul" and the person going "Huh what? Take what now? Did I order a package? Well, I better sign for this in blood." Lekain's plot would be foiled completely if the raven king and Pelleas had half a brain between them. As dumb as it is for people to sign the contracts, I think the even bigger issue is that if Begnion has magic capable of cursing an entire country's populace, why do they even need to make people sign contracts?

You can also get Nohrian Blade/Sunrise Katana and similar unbuyable weapons through rank bonuses, albeit only one of each per playthrough.

They do, but if I recall correctly the Luke/Vader foil doesn't become apparent until Empire and Jedi. Before then, Vader is just a scary and mysterious dude, wrecking everyone's shit and providing a personal nemesis for the protagonist. The point is that PoR!BK doesn't need fleshed out motives for his presence to leave a strong impression. I'd agree with you that the Radiant Dawn characterization left a lot to be desired.

I don't see why defeating Greil is an "idiotic motivation". The appeal of the Black Knight is that he is menacing and mysterious, both his identity and agenda. Path of Radiance is the set-up and then Radiant Dawn gives him a more detailed backstory. Had you only seen A New Hope, would you think Darth Vader a bad character?

It's one thing to take inspiration from the determination of others to overcome adversity, but it's quite another to downplay their hardships. If it makes you feel better about it, you can think of genetic engineering as the next stage in preventive medicine. You aren't opposed to vaccines are you? I wouldn't wish away the polio vaccine even though some people can live on with their disabilities.

Shadow Dragon! ...said no one ever. I'd be happy with Tellius, GBA or Fates* style artwork. *Kozaki's style, in particular. The art director needs to get his act together.

For Radiant Dawn, the part of the story I'd like changed the most would be removing the Blood Pact, but if they had to keep it in, I'd like it better explained, particularly why anyone would willingly sign one. "Hey, sign this paper. You get nothing in return but you and your country will be my slaves forever" is a Fates tier plot device. Another change would be taking out the reverence for BK. He's a straight villain in PoR, and for good reason. For gameplay, I would: -give the DB more chapters (maybe make a part 2.5) and just work on unit balance in general -tweak mastery skills so they aren't Insta Win triggers -give the new characters more development, either through Base Conversations or supports -cut Biorhythm. It's dumb and shouldn't come back. There might be more things but that's all that comes to mind for now.

TFW people ship Takumi-sama with Nohrian scum

Who can blame him? He's a pretty swell guy.

There is a difference between doing regular, everyday activities and being made into objects of lust. Let's look at some examples. [spoiler=Artwork 1] [spoiler=Artwork 2] In the first artwork, we can see two characters interacting. One is flirty, physically affectionate and likes wine . The other character is single-minded, serious and caries a weapon with her, even outside of battle. Artwork like this is to humanize them and to show us another view of their lives. The second artwork? Tits and ass. You can choose to appeal to peoples' base desires but that removes the depth of appreciation one has for a character. Some of the MyCastle stuff is fine. Characters casually interacting with each other brings us closer to them. "Inviting" characters to your private quarters so you can rub their bodies is dehumanizing. But you're saying that because the 3DS games are financially successful, fans can not desire a change of staff, as though those positions were owed to people who worked on the game. What's "fair to him as an employee" is that he is paid for his work, not that he is forever in charge of the art direction.

Your argument, that Kusakihara played a large part in the revived popularity of the game, is equally unfounded. The game became popular for a myriad of reasons and those reasons are different for each fan. Ana didn't say he should be "punished" or anything nearly so dramatic. She merely stated that she didn't like his art direction and would like to see something different. Your argument is absurd and attempts to silence people for wanting a new direction in the series.

This is what google turned up for the address of Kobe Central (Kobechuo) Post Office 6-2-1 Sakaemachidori, Chuo Ward, Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture 650-0023, Japan Kobe Central Post Office: Attn to Force of WIll Nation: Japan Prefecture: Hyogo City: Kobe Neighborhood: Chuo-ku Sakaemachidori Building Number: 6-2-1 Post Code: 650-0023 Japan usually orders things biggest to smallest. You can write/type out the Japanese but they can also read the romanized names. Edit: Haha, now I'm a tad confused. I searched Kobe Central Post office but it came up with a different post code than the one you have. But when I searched your post code, it is showed me the same place. Anyway, the rest of the address is definitely correct.

Team Takumi, for the reasons stated by OP. While most of the retainers have "fiercely loyal" as a character trait, Takumi and his subordinates felt more like friends and equals than being slavishly devoted (like Elise and Sakura's retainers) or just sort of there (Ryoma and Leo's retainers). For the weakest group, I'd say Team Hinoka. Setsuna is a liability and Azama is asshole without a single saving grace. All of this said, outside of their supports, the retainers and their lord don't have a lot of on-screen interaction, so it's kind of hard get a real impression of their team dynamic.

If the Switch is financially successful (ie it's going to need to be on the market for a while before a Fire Emblem game is made), I think there will be a console FE release. Awakening and Fates secured the series viability, now it's up to the platform to be worth it. I definitely WANT to see another console title. Fire Emblem deserves the best graphical hardware available. I'm going to disagree with hot-springs and swimsuit stuff. While people did indeed bathe/go swimming since the beginning of time, the reason why it exists is pure fanservice. I think it devalues characters when they are presented to the player as things to oggle. Camilla is the go-to example for how gratuitous her outfit and cinematic is, but even just making official pin up artwork is the devs saying "This character is a sexual object. This comes before them being human, nuanced or worthy of respect". Granted, it's optional content but I think it's telling of how characters are meant to appeal to the audience.

I'd prefer it if it were a trigger-able skill, like Parity. If it's always on, it will hurt the user more than it helps since you can take advantage of stances more often.