Dandy Druid

A part of me wants to hear all about the leaks while another wants me to stay blind. I guess I'll be in the middle and just desire after the soundtrack and MAYBE some post-timeskip designs.

I like how they tried to balance off mounted units. But if a character that's naturally fast becomes a cavalier, what's going to stop them? Although I wish Magic classes had more more MOV. 4 across all 3 tiers is ridiculous. I know their robes look heavy, but not a single movement increase? Not even 5? Physic will need to be learned ASAP and they're gonna need some boots and that grappler rally. I hope we have a Mage Knight, Valkyrie, Dark Knight, and/or Strategist Class. I would prefer Mage Knight and Valkyrie though. I miss the Mage Knight class tbh.

For my first playthrough, it's been a real struggle deciding who should do what exactly. Byleth's weapon type will be whatever I feel like is my weakest area I think. Other than that, I try to have all 7 weapon types covered by the side characters. I'm not planning on recruiting different house members in my first playthrough as well. Black Eagles, a.k.a. the house giving me the most grief. I keep changing my mind. Blue Lions- probably the easiest house to sort for the first play-through Golden Deer, probably the first house I'll do. I'm also having a hard time deciding who goes where so please tell me if I should switch some s**t around. I have a tendency to overthink these things.

I'm confused by your expectations? I think the reason we'll stay at the Monastery the whole game is because it's in a good location for a war. There will probably be battles in Faerghus, the Empire, and the Alliance, we'll just most likely return to the Monastery after the battle. I doubt we'll only battle near the school. In fact, doesn't the Raphael + Ignatz paralogue take place within a part of the Alliance? I do hope the main castle of each faction can become the base or a pseudo-monastery though. It would be interesting to see how each force decorates.

He became a meme. Now that we got an idea of what his post time skip appearance looks like, he may start getting "be careful of who you call ugly in high school" memes.

For Black Eagles, I'll recruit Mercedes because she's originally from the Empire and maybe Annette? So they at least have a support since I'm unsure if they'll have any if they get recruited to another house. For Blue Lions, I'll recruit Lorenz because he allegedly knows Mercedes? I hope they would have a support. I may recruit Leonie as well to ensure a support with Lorenz (getting Virion and Sully vibes) and I feel like she'll fit in with the whole knighthood aspect. For Golden Deer, I'm not sure yet. I'll get 2 Black Eagle students, so maybe Petra and Dorothea? I do like Caspar a lot and I can see it being in-character for him since he's trying to earn a name for himself. But it only works if he finds that the Empire is no longer upholding his idea of justice. Petra and Dorothea have the loosest ties with the Empire; I can see Briggid revolt against the Empire. Dorothea is a commoner and I doubt she'll have much story importance, so she's an easy switch. But I'm not too sure if I'll do this for my first playthrough. If anything, I'll probably end up recruiting someone by accident.

I'm kind of confused by what some people mean by "time traveling mechanics". The only thing regarding that concept that has been concerned has been Sothis' Turnwheel, which is an in-battle mechanic. Unless we're switching between the school and the 5 year time skip, but that doesn't make much sense to me in regards to class progression and it would be hard to write the story like that as well.

I mean, he has the Crest of FLAMES. FLAMES. Watch how Byleth is really related to the Flame Emperor instead of Jeralt or something. Or maybe the Flame Emperor is really a.... woman and Byleth's mother! DUN DUN DUN.

Bernadetta- I'm not a fan. The haircut is weird and the outfit is oddly revealing for someone who is painfully shy. I miss her hood. If she had a hood and the upper part of her chest was covered, it would be better. Unless she got significantly less shy, then you do you Bernie. Ashe- He looks normal. Like a sniper. A less snazzy Innes. Ok. Lorenz- WOW the glow up. Of course they had to have some ugly duckling to swan moment and I'm glad it's Lorenz. Maybe it'll give him a real character arc? Hilda- She's always looked cute. Why do I get the feeling her face will be the exact same, except she's just wearing a different outfit and she'll just have a ponytail instead. The easiest portrait to imagine out of the group. Caspar- He got hot. To add to the discussion of what his body type is. I don't think he's lanky. Yeah the armor makes him look bigger than he actually is but do look at his waistline. He's thicker too and it's all muscle. Felix- Like Hilda, he has always looked cool. His outfit is my favorite. It just looks really cool. Lysithea- I really like how creative her outfit is. I wonder what her portrait will look like when she's older.

Pair the movement gambit with a sing/dance skill and we could send somebody so far on the first turn. I can already sense the shenanigans.

IIRC one of the famitsu scans or something said that you can use any weapon with any class (except gauntlets on mounts). It's just the classes have prefer certain weapon types. This explains why Edelgard and Claude can wield an axe and a bow despite their base class displaying swords, lances, and authority. I'm mixed on this feature. Classes having certain weapon types is what distinguished them. However, this also gives us time to prepare for their advanced class that may use a new weapon type instead of starting over from there. I think they did this to encourage reclassing, but as someone who doesn't like doing that, I think I'll stick to their preferred weapon types.

My first choice was Golden Deer, then it became Blue Lions for some time because I feel like it has the overall most likable cast. But then I look at Golden Deer and Claude + Hilda intrigue me the most, so I'm probably going back to Golden Deer. I also like how ragtag Golden Deer looks as well.

I've seen people theorizing a couple of things: Nintendo isn't getting along with Vee's Union IS changed the direction they had for Edelgard/imagined her with a different voice But I think another possibility is the timing. Looking back at last year at this time, TH was no where near completion. The sprites weren't even done yet. I get the feeling they asked whoever was available to speak the role. Vee said she only did a small amount of line work, so it's possible they only wanted her to do the trailer because they haven't found "the right one" yet. Personally, I hope Vee gets another part in this game. She has good range and a great variety in her portfolio. They definitely could find her in another role.

I don't know why but I'm much more interested in the side characters if a time skip happens. I wonder if/how much their appearances will change. If they do change, will this be the first Fire Emblem to have the side character portraits change? Also, peak at older?Edelgard's sword. It looks like the same one Green Lady and Old Spiky Guy were holding in last year's E3 trailer.

She doesn't seem so much of a politically hostage so much as a diplomat for her country. She seems happy to be a student and enthusiastic about learning the language of Fodlan, but that was just her first meeting. Maybe she has her own ulterior motives? But as of now, she doesn't seem to be a character that will threaten Edelgard. I wonder what her crest is, if she has one.

No one is S for me yet. It's too early to call them S Tier, imo. A Tier: (Like a lot) Dorothea: I like dancers/refreshers usually. She reminds me of Rise from Persona too, so bonus points. Dimitri: Everyone that's writing him off as grumpy or stoic need to reread his profile and Edelgard's profile. Dimitri was said to have a polite and refreshing personality, so I expect him to have cute moments. Edelgard is the one who's supposed to be aloof, not Dimitri, so don't get it twisted. Felix: I like sarcastic characters. I think Felix will be pretty important as well considering he has Major Blood. His personal skill will be interesting to see how effective it is as well. Mercedes: I like her design and her name. Her backstory is cool- I just hope she's more than just a nice girl though. Claude: I think he will have the most refreshing personality out of the 3 lords, and for the series in general. He doesn't seem like a cookie cutter lord, and he does represent many firsts for this series: first lord of color and first bow lord. The hints that he's secretly cunning and manipulative can be interesting as well. He's the lord I'm most excited for. B Tier: (Like) Edelgard: At first I didn't like her too much, but she's been growing on me. Compared to other female lords, she seems to be more cutthroat or taciturn. Most female lords are naive or overly nice, so in comparison, Edelgard will be really interesting. Caspar: Seems a little gimmicky, but he reminds me of Sanada from Persona. He has another JUSTICE! personality, but his backstory as a second son elevates that. He's all about trying to make a name for himself and make his own way in the world. I think he will be endearing. Also, I wonder if we will face off against his brother. Petra: She seems like a pretty refreshing character. Although not too different from Athena, Petra seems to have enough backstory going for her to make her a really unique character. Because of her home country's name, I'm really tempted to make her an Archer instead of mymridon like most people probably will. Then again..... I won't spoil anymore. She's definitely wielding swords, axes, or bows for me though. Dedue: He has an interesting design and backstory. I think he would be very handy in chokepoints too. Ashe: I like his backstory. I was thinking of making him a thief, but his personal skill may make that useless. So I wonder what I should make him instead. Hilda: I like her personality as a spoiled princess. For a series with a ton of princesses, we don't have any outright spoiled rotten ones like Hilda. I'm interested in how she interacts with other students. Lysithea: I really like her design. Personality seems like a cross between Cordelia and Ricken. Appearance seems like a cross between Lute and Micaiah. Lorenz: I like his schtick. Someone that wants to be popular with girls but isn't. It's kind of humorous, imo. Although it's been done SO MUCH recently (Virion, Inigo) I like how Lorenz is actually unattractive enough to make it work. Virion is ok, but a part of why I never got Laslow/Inigo's character striking out is because he was too handsome to fail that much. Lorenz is purposely ugly, and he has the whole insecurity thing hinted at so it would be interesting to see how his character will be. C Tier (Neutral) Everyone else. They didn't leave a strong impression on me. I don't dislike anyone enough to put them in D or F. Characters I've left out of consideration are the ones not revealed yet, so (as of now): Linhardt, Sylvain, Ingrid, Leonie, and Marianne. I have a feeling I'd add Linhardt, Sylvain, and Ingrid later. When the game comes out, I'll probably take the ranking more seriously and properly rank them. But I don't really KNOW them yet, if you know what I mean.

So other than Mercie, I wonder who else has a damaged crest and how it affects them. Mercie doesn't seem to mind as she seems to like living as a commoner. But I wonder how the other 4 feel. This is assuming Mercie's crest is one of the damaged ones.

This girl: She's the Blue Lion member we know the least about. They may be saving her for the end.

It's possible her crest comes from her mother's side and she carries her father's last name. Her noble house had fallen, so it's possible they lost their place on the map as well. Now for my opinion: Lysithea seems cool. She kinda looks like short Robin.

I asked Thani info about Ingrid-

So we finally hear about the soon-to-be fan favorite. I like Dorothea. I didn't like how her hat looked photoshopped on at first but it's grown on me. She reminds me a little bit of Rise from Persona in terms of Design and backstory, so I will probably like her. She's currently the only Black Eagles character I really like so if she has access to the songstress/dancer class she will probably be one of my favorite characters. It would be interesting to see how she interacts with the other Black Eagles, since she's the only commoner of the group. I do hope they mention class difference in her supports, because the Empire seems like a much more serious/orderly culture than the others. It would also be interesting to see her interactions with Manuela, since they seem to have a pre-established relationship, so it would be interesting to see how they develop. She also seems to flirt with Byleth, which makes me wonder... In general, a theatrical company isn't exactly a corporation. In most cases, the Company part is just part of the name. They're probably more akin to an opera troupe rather than a corporation. A corporation implies that Mittlefrank Opera Company is like a brand/chain that is owned by shareholders and whatnot. It's most likely a medieval Broadway.

Nice eye. I really hope more personal touches are put in other than just a banner. Maybe how the desks are organized can gives us a glimpse into the characters' personalities.

I'm fond of Golden Deer the most. The cast seems to be the most varied/weirdest. Since they seem to care about noble status the least and have a more democratic style to them, I wonder how their group dynamic will work. Claude seems to be the easy-going type, but also a strategist. I feel like his character will be really clever and will have entertaining dialogue. Hilda's portrait got upgraded and she still looks like Serra. The fact that I can make her a healer will make this all the better. Raphael's shirt gets me, and I hope he's more than just a "lovable oaf" type character. Big, not-so-handsome guys like him are usually portrayed as dumb, so I hope he's at least average. Leonie is giving me Sully vibes. Lorentz looks like a villain to me. I'm interested in what his personality will be. Ignace seems to be the nerdiest of the bunch and I wonder how his model will look if we assign him a brawny class like brigand. Lysithea is the prettiest girl to me so far and kind of looks like short female Robin. Marianne seems like she'll be a pessimist, so let's hope her writing is good. Now, I'm not trying to be edgy, but the Black Eagles stand out the least to me. Their designs are varied, but I'm not sold on any of them. None of them look bad, but I'm not particularly fond of them. Edelgard is pretty, but I think her dialogue will be the most boring of the three. (I hope I'm wrong and it's entertaining). Caspar, Petra, Ferdinand, and Dorothea look interesting. I do wish Dorothea's hat was different. The shading isn't that great and it looks slapped on with photoshop. The lack of detail of where the hair meets the hat also bugs me. The hat should be bigger and come down on her head lower. It looks way too small like Hey Arnold's hat. Her earrings are cute, but surprisingly modern. Maybe she's the fashionista of the cast. Now to Blue Lions. I like them. I know most people can't get past Dimitri's hair, but it truly is one of the most iconic hairstyles in all of Fire Emblem now. That's a fact. It looks better in pictures that show movement. The fact that his character is said to be really polite and eloquent makes me wonder if he'll have a cute/innocent side. Mercedes and Sylvain seem like interesting characters, as well as the no names. Blondie has a spot on the calendar and I feel like she may be really important. If she's not a relative of Dimitri, she seems like the kind of girl that would be his love interest: the hime trope. Silver doesn't look like a student at all; he looks really old. I hope that's a running joke in-game. I also like the female teacher. To reply to the 2 quotes above, she could also be Dimitri's love interest? I don't know why, but she looks like the kind of noblewoman that was raised her whole life to marry the King. It could be that it is all the same classroom. Maybe IS took inspiration from Western high schools where the teacher stays in the same room and not Japanese classrooms. When the students are in there, it could just be different periods. This raises the question of how time/periods will affect classroom gameplay. Does this mean we only have a limited time with certain factions every day? Is this the game's way to spread EXP to all factions?

I wonder if a student dies due to a school mission, that the parents have a right to sue. But I feel like this is the type of school to make all parents sign a contract saying they can't sue and assume all liabilities.

New Anna is interesting. She reminds me of the Annas from the SNES era. FE4 Anna had longer hair than most Annas and FE5 is the only other Anna that doesn't wear a red outfit. I also like the asymmetric design of her shirt. She has no right sleeve. I wish her hair had more red, but other than that I really like this iteration of Anna.