vanguard333

a custom character that is both fully custom and is purely a supporting character: The character can fully customize them right down to their starting class. They have limited-to-no importance to the plot, and the story is very much the lord character's story. Basically, think along the lines of Rook from Xenoblade Chronicles X.

I'm surprised that F!Byleth and Edelgard is doing this badly; I suppose it's probably more a statement about their opponent; that or people like me figuring that they'll have another chance to vote for Byleth and Edelgard when M!Byleth and Edelgard rolls around.

Fire Emblem Fates: Revelations is by far the worst game ever made.

So, for the first two, I have never played Kingdom Hearts or Trails, so I just went by whether or not I liked the other pairing. For the last one, as much as I like Byleth and Edelgard in general, I also like Laura and Aran, and I have another chance to vote for Byleth and Edelgard when the M!Byleth and Edelgard vote appears.

Okay. To be honest, I'm surprised it took so long for those two to get nominated Are there any other pairings you wish to nominate? The rules say to nominate 2 pairings.

You're welcome. You have to pick a pairing from a video game if you want it to be nominated. It could be any video game.

Guys, I know this is a fire emblem forum, but I'm pretty sure more than two thirds of the nominations at this point have been Fire Emblem pairings. Surely there are others that you like?

He makes a lot of really good videos that I would recommend. They're funny and he makes some really good points. That doesn't really change how disproportionate the numbers are.

Characters; no question about it, and the Black Eagles especially have been my favourites so far (I say "so far" because I have yet to do a Blue Lions playthrough). I also really liked the "being a teacher" aspect of the game, weirdly enough. I could make a lot of criticisms about the monastery, Byleth, etc., but it does such a good job of making it feel like you really are guiding the student characters that I almost don't care about that stuff.

You're welcome. Do I get a third nomination for pointing it out? (Just joking; I don't even know who I would nominate)

Thanks. Well then, I guess replace my Ike and Elincia nomination (since that one was already nominated) with... M!Byleth and Edelgard, I guess, since that one comes to mind and isn't on the list. By the way, one of the nominations isn't from a video game and the title of this thread says "video game ship". Just wondering: why is it being accepted as a nomination if it's not from a video game?

I don't really "ship", so I guess these are just the video game pairings I like the most: Ike and Elincia (Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, NA Localization) Link and Zelda (The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks) Wait, how exactly does this work? Do we have to pick from the list, or are we adding to the list? Speaking of which, one of the examples in the list isn't even from a video game (nor is it good; it was put in at the very last minute for hype without actually wanting to put in the work writing it)

I'm so sorry for unwittingly dragging you into this, Jotari! I was just quoting that old thread to try to explain a point that I was trying to make about Rudolf being a villain and foil to Alm (at least if Alm hadn't been written like a generic Marth lord); I didn't realize that I would be dragging you into this.

Oh, that's what you mean. I can see that; I suppose the writers were probably trying to avoid having to abruptly introduce a bunch of new characters when Radiant Dawn is already packed with almost more new characters than it can actually manage. Oh, boy. Where do I begin? "Just his father and died for the sake of Valentia" That is seriously oversimplifying it and also highlighting one of the big problems with Echoes' writing. I'm really tired, so I'm going to quote myself from an old topic about this that was created by @Jotari called: "Rudolf was Meant to be a Villain Folks" The internal quote is something Jotari said that I replied to with the external quote: Ah; now the "But in their quest for power, the Rigelians had let their hearts grow cold and numb to all kindness" line over a picture of Rudolf finally makes sense to me... Honestly, I think you're both right, but I think the problem had less to do with appearance, and more to do with the writing. One problem with SoV was that it had topics and things like these in mind, but then did a really bad job presenting them and conveying them to the player. This goes for almost all the main characters, and Rudolf and Alm are no exceptions. After Rudolf's death, we find Mycen telling Alm about Rudolf's plan, in such a way that it conveys, "This is the only way it could've happened, now stop crying and fight Duma." And Alm just... takes it. I get that he's grieving, but he's blaming himself without taking anything from it. If they wanted to convey that Alm and Rudolf are counterpoints to each other, then Mycen's explanation should have been laced with Rudolf's viewpoint, and then Alm, after a moment to cry, should have called the old men out on their actions; slowly starting to disagree and saying that they're wrong; that Alm has only gotten as far as he has because of the people alongside him, and called him out on the fact that Rudolf's and Rigel's obsession with strength and the next battle left them blind to both compassion and to alternative actions. Alm should have called them out on the fact that their intentions were good, but their actions were horrible, and that he is not going to lead like that. For a bonus, they should've also had Alm have a bit of self-reflection. It may have been Rudolf's plan, but he jumped right into it; thinking only of the next battle; a flaw shared by both father and son, and, as you (Jotari) have in your signature, was supposed to be Alm's flaw in Echoes. But he never gets called out on it; Celica just yells at him in the reunion scene in a way that makes her come off as angry and irrational, rather than as a clash of both of them being dead-set on their respective approaches, and the big scene that should really have driven the point that he's only thinking of the next battle, the moment where he learns he just killed his father, he's just going, "No! I just killed my father!" And no one learns anything from it. Rudolf is supposed to be what Alm would've become if not for his friends; particularly Celica. But the game fails to convey this. Alm doesn't learn, he's shown as foreign to Rudolf's way of thinking rather than realizing how they are a counterpoint. The point would have been delivered so much better if we had Alm introspect, and realize at these important moments where he and Rudolf were very similar, and where they differ. These moments in the game that are supposed to convey the philosophy of each character, where it's right, and where it's wrong, often fail to show what they're trying to show, thanks to flaws in the writing for both the plot and the characters. And I think this is the biggest reason why Rudolf comes off as an idiot rather than a villain. Thanks to the flaws in these moments, Alm comes off as "supposedly perfect and special according to the game", Celica comes off as "an irrational idiot", Rudolf comes off as an "idiot with a flimsy plan", Mycen comes off as "the world's most flat ninja grandpa; appearing and disappearing anywhere when the plot calls for it and overall not really sounding like he cares about Alm at all", and Jedah comes off as "a moustache-twirling villain" rather than a religious fanatic resigned to Duma's madness and unable to conceive of a world without Duma (in other words, something of a counterpoint to Celica). As for appearance, the fact that SoV Rudolf further resembles Walhart should have helped convey the point that Rudolf is just as much a victim of Duma's philosophy taken to the extreme as every other major character in Rigel, if not more so. Walhart's big failing was that he could only see in terms of strength, conquest, and the next battle, just like Rudolf. But it doesn't, for those story reasons that I mentioned. Basically, Shadows of Valentia is a thematic and character mess of a narrative that couldn't decide what story it was actually wanting to tell.

Um... are you forgetting Mia? Sure, Greil rescued her when she got captured, but she wasn't exactly "hand-picked" by Greil and she was only part of the Greil Mercenaries for maybe 20 minutes before Greil's death. She's not one of the original members, but she does remain a member of the Greil Mercenaries and still is one in Radiant Dawn. Fernand and Berkut have zero impact on the plot whatsoever; remove them and events can proceed unaltered. You say Berkut acts as a foil to Alm, but that's redundant as there's already an antagonistic foil to Alm (or at least there would be if the writing had been consistent): Rudolf. So, Berkut doesn't even do any fleshing out that could've (and probably should've) been done by an original character.

What I'm trying to say is that Shadows of Valentia's direction of new characters is far from flawless, and, while I personally hope any new remake (like a genealogy remake) doesn't use either game except as an example of what not to do, at least Shadow Dragon knew what it was trying to accomplish and carried it out. Personally, for a remake of something like Genealogy, I want to see them go all-out; give us a complete overhaul that understands the source material while bringing it up to date and able to stand alongside the new games, and I want any remake characters to follow this, with the same amount of characterization and relevance as the original characters are given in the overhaul so that they blend right in; they add to the game and seem as if they were always there. Some of the Shadow Dragon remake characters did blend right in, while most of the Shadows of Valentia remake characters stood out as add-ons.

I don't really think Shadow Dragon and Shadows of Valentia are really comparable in this regard, as both had very different goals: Shadow Dragon was very deliberately kept very retro. The barebones script was virtually untouched, the graphics were updated but still designed to look old-school, etc. And this is even reflected with the new characters, who have about as much characterization as the old characters did in Shadow Dragon: enough to give an understanding of who they are, but really not much beyond that. Shadows of Valentia, however, plays like a game very much torn on whether it wanted to be an updated retro game (like Ocarina of Time 3D) or a full overhaul that could stand alongside brand-new games (like Final Fantasy 7 Remake). These two clashing goals can also be seen in the new characters: they're added, they're given a lot of characterization like they would in a game that's a full overhaul, but their actual relevance and impact is minimal, like new characters in an updated retro. Berkut and Ferdinand, when it comes down to it, add nothing to the plot as antagonists; the story carries on the exact same way it did before, and no amount of heavy characterization or good voice acting changes that, and they're lack of impact makes them come across as weakly-written antagonists, despite the amount of character writing put into them. Rinea has it even worse because her character revolves around Berkut. Similarly, Conrad is given some impact early on as a mysterious knight who bails Celica out of certain situations, but not only does this alteration reduce Celica's agency in these situations, his impact is gone the moment the mask is removed, and it renders his addition just as needless plot-wise as Berkut and Ferdinand, but on the heroes' side. Honestly, the more I think about it, the more I prefer how Shadow Dragon handled being a remake, as at least it knew what it wanted to be. Shadows of Valentia doesn't have that, and it suffers for it, especially in the area of its characters. The more I think about the characters added to Shadows of Valentia, the more I think about how much that effort could instead have gone towards refining the story and the pre-existing characters, and that's not a good sign. I don't think about that at all when thinking about Shadow Dragon.

I'm poor at explaining this stuff, so here's a video that explains a lot of this argument that I'm trying to explain:

That's not what people calling for "defunding the police" are calling for; they're calling for a large chunk of police budget (which is actually extremely large in a lot of cities and a not insignificant amount of it is spent on military-grade equipment that the police doesn't need) and reallocating those funds towards other public services that could use the money, such as mental health services. The idea would be that, since a lot of calls the police get in the US don't actually have to do with crime or the need for law enforcement but instead have to do with matters such as mental health, the other public services would be equipped to handle those calls and the police wouldn't be overburdened.

The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie: The Video Game: as far as licensed games go, it isn't bad at all; it's actually a decent 3D Platformer thanks to the developers being able to save time by reusing assets from Battle for Bikini Bottom. Then there's Super Mario Sunshine: It seems to have a bad reputation among a lot of Mario fans, and not for completely unjustifiable reasons (the game was definitely rushed out the door and the camera has serious issues), but it does have a lot of great stuff to it as well. The FLUDD adds a lot to Mario's movement potential and can provide useful tips without interrupting the game, Delfino Plaza is one of the best hub worlds in a 3D Platformer, and plenty of other great stuff about it.

Recently, I was reading through the TV Tropes page for Fire Emblem: Three Houses. One thing I read in the YMMV section was an interesting opinion regarding Ionius under the "They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character" opinions: That part that I bolded stood out to me: the idea that Ionius could've been the Flame Emperor instead of Edelgard. Could he really have easily been the Flame Emperor? How much of the story would have to change? Would it be good or bad change? What are your thoughts on this idea? (EDIT: I'd like to make it clear that I'm not agreeing or disagreeing; I simply looked at that idea and started wondering, "How much would have to change for something like that?")

Certain chapters happen during thunderstorms, and the gameplay effect that this has is that all flying units have their movement reduced to 1 unless they dismount. Also, lightning will randomly strike certain tiles at the end of the turn, with these tiles being lit up during the turn as an indicator that the lightning will strike that tile.

I think that might just be you noticing both stories using some of the same tropes, which makes a lot of sense. That's not a bad thing; tropes are tools; it's how they're used that determines a story. I think people have been saying, "Ike is a Shonen Protagonist" for at least some time on this forum and, to be honest, it is rather accurate: blunt, socially-awkward, reckless, charismatic, determined to get stronger and reach their personal goal (in Ike's case reaching his father's level as a swordsman), all the things you mentioned, etc.

Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance. It's a bit hard for me to explain why it's my favourite, since "favourite" is extremely subjective. I just love the gameplay, characters, story, worldbuilding, etc. It also has my favourite video game protagonist of all time. My top 10 would probably be this, Radiant Dawn, Three Houses, a bunch of Legend of Zelda games (Wind Waker, Spirit Tracks, Breath of the Wild, etc.), Shadow of the Colossus, and Pokémon Platinum in no particular order.

In contrast to casual mode, there's an additional mode called, "True War" that takes permadeath to the extreme: not only are characters permanently gone if they are killed, but any game over results in the save file being automatically deleted, forcing you to start from the very beginning. Don't think you can soft-reset or use a second save file to override this, as the game keeps track of all that.