[The place of a protagonist in Fire Emblem]

4 hours ago, NekoKnight said:

Everyone values different things. Some people mash the A button through story sections on repeat play throughs but I never would because an RPG is an interactive story to me and skipping the story is missing half the experience. Of course having good gameplay is also critical which is why I stopped playing Tactics Ogre and Undertale despite their often lauded stories (I really wanted to keep playing Tactics Ogre but that gameplay was frustrating). At least you can enjoy a game's story on YouTube even if the gameplay blows (or you just aren't that good at it, like for me and The Last of Us, lol).

Some people often make the point that gameplay is the most critical part of a game, and while I don't disagree, if I found a game had good gameplay (60% of the experience) but it had a revolting story (40% of the experience), I'd still call that being a failure.

I'd say people who value stories as much as me are a minority of players, sadly. A lot of people are utterly disinterested in writing quality (Fates is extremely popular despite it being so terribly written it borders on parody).

It's the same for me. I won't go as far as calling the gameplay simply a support for the story, and ideally it should be engaging as well, but it won't be what makes or breaks an RPG for me. Enjoying the story can make me play a game even if the mechanics are a pain (ex: FE4, which I'd never have touched if I hadn't read a LP of it before), the opposite isn't true unless we're talking, say, Pokémon. (By which I don't mean Pokémon stories are bad, just that they're not the selling point of the games, which is fine.)

[Supports in Three Houses]

5 hours ago, vanguard333 said:

The thing about Ike is that, given what's there, you could say there's no indication towards any particular orientation, or multiple or even contradictory indicators; a lot of it comes down to interpretation given what's there. Part of that is thanks to localization differences, while other parts of it are simply due to how Ike is written as a character. 

Because the version of Path of Radiance I (and many) played was the NA localization, which heavily implied Ike and Elincia having romantic feelings for each other while clearly defining Ike and Soren's relationship as that of two close friends; similarly to Sherlock Holmes and Watson (the book versions) and many other examples, I and many were left with that interpretation about Ike, and that interpretation is not inherently less valid than anyone else's. Even if IS were to say, "The intent was always Ike and Soren", that would be one interpretation no more or less valid than anyone else's thanks to The Death of the Author. 

To clarify, if someone interpreted it as Ike and Soren, I would not inherently disagree with anyone, nor would I disagree with anyone who thought Ike was Ace after playing PoR and RD based on what was written. I would only disagree if someone presented evidence that wasn't actually in the game, or was presented out-of-context. 

And there's the problem with just leaving it as implied: unless you make sure that the implications can only point in one particular direction, and you make sure not to have anything that can unintentionally imply anything else, there will be ambiguity. 

That's pretty much what I meant, yes. I mentioned Ike because he's a good example of too much subtlety leading to ambiguity, not to start this debate about him again.

[Supports in Three Houses]

7 hours ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Subtle doesn't have to mean never once stating "Oh, I'm gay.". It just means no "Oh I'm gaaaaaaaayy!"

Also, Ike? No absolutely definitive evidence on that, but let's not go down that road. I'm not anti-gay Ike BTW, I just leave it unresolved.

That's exactly my point. Enough evidence that you can make a case for it, but nothing definitive, thus a lot of discussions about him degenerate into the same argument and nobody is satisfied with the result or happy to see those pop up again. (But it was only an example and I definitely agree not to go down that road.)

And I'd be totally fine with the kind of subtle you mean (not even the "I'm gay" is necessary, as I said about Leon), just not with the kind that leaves enough room for doubt that everyone who sees it that way will be dismissed as a crazy fujoshi or what have you.

6 hours ago, Critical Sniper said:

Medieval setting and those that go to school are probably not allowed in if they are gay.

With that in mind, I really don't care if they appear I just hope that their personality isn't "I'm gay, notice me you homophobe REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE" because then it will get annoying and feel more like they are trying to be political and stuff. But I didn't really mind them being there in Fates and Echoes (Well I dont think Valbar and Leon have a pair ending?), the only problem and the only problem is........................................................ when it becomes too obvious, tell me, aside from SJWs and protesters, do you think gay people are always trying to make others notice that they are gay? No, I could have a gay friend for years without even knowing they are gay and it would be no problem and even stay like that once he told me or I found out.

Of course you could, especially because it's often easier (or even in some cases, safer) not to advertise it, but this is a topic about supports and romance. So we assume that the hypothetical queer characters would be trying to make at least one person notice.

(And it's medieval fantasy, homophobia is not inherent to the setting. I have no doubt there will be some, but it will be because IS put it in there, even though there will probably be some characters' views on class (ie: at least some of Byleth's students will respect them in spite of their low social standing) that won't match with the oh-so-precious historical accuracy.)

[Supports in Three Houses]

49 minutes ago, HappyHawlucha. said:

I honestly think the most effective way they could write in LGBT characters is to not make marriage an S Supporting a big focus and make the lines a little more blurred, in a similar way to Leon, where it's never outright confirmed but it's implied through in game text and endings. It's a real injustice to include one or two non straight options and call it quits, so if they don't want to make it hard for themselves to make every character gay/bi, the best way to do it is to strip it back and make a character's sexuality a lot more subtle in order to imply more when it comes to A/S supports(if they are here) and endings.

I'm not sure I would call Leon subtle, or "never outright confirmed". He may never say "I'm gay", if that's what you mean, but once you start having him go "you're not my type" at Kamui and go on about how and why Valbar is, or talking at you about how he fell in love with a guy, I'd say we're past simply implying it.

The problem with subtle is that people who forget LGBT characters are a possibility will not realize it, and people who don't want their faves to be LGBT will refuse to see it, clinging to the subtlety and lack of outright confirmation, which basically negates the "representation" part of having these characters. Yes, we'll be happy about their inclusion while playing the game on our own, but we'll be called delusional for it in almost every fandom space. See: any discussion about Ike. (And probably others; I haven't really looked around, say, the fe7 board yet, so I don't know if the likes of Lyn/Florina or Raven/Lucius are similarly just-platonic-friends-zoned. There are probably people who think Maribelle is straight, too, and she was anything but subtle.)

They've written characters this way, and it was nice, but now that video games as a whole are starting to catch up with reality on that level, we shouldn't have to settle for "implied".

[Supports in Three Houses]

22 hours ago, EJ107 said:

The big kicker is that there are a lot more people playing fire emblem who either enjoy same sex relationships in media or are LGBT themselves than people who are into loli's or some of the other small groups the game already panders to. So why not try to appeal to that larger group as well?

We might have more people, but I'm afraid we have less money than otakus and that's what matters to IS. :')

13 hours ago, Lewyn said:

In terms of amount of characters, homosexuals are 3% of the population so that would mean 1 or 2 characters per game which they seem to have done recently (or more).  So they aren't really under representing just the representatives given are poor.  

Closer to 10% actually. And you have to keep in mind that any data on this is most likely underrepresenting too, since outing oneself, even just for a survey, is still not safe for everyone.

As for the supposed need for biological children, not only do trans people exist, so does magic in these games. But adoption would be just as valid unless they're making Holy Blood a central part of the plot again, a fresh spin on children, and everything said about it here is stuff I'd like to see in a future game. (No children for this one, though, please. Give it a break for one non-remake game.)

Seconding more or less everything that has been said about more, better, and non-avatar-exclusive queer representation, and also @NegativeExponents- and half the people in this thread, bless you.

[New Heroes: Kitsune and Wolfskin]

Glad to see them (and I like all characters' art for once), won't pull for them, I still have my seasonal Tellius kids to get~

 

4 hours ago, Jave said:

Velouria is from Velour, which is a plushy fabric similar to velvet.

Not just similar but the exact same thing, 'velours' is french for velvet. (Unless it actually is a different fabric in english, in which case nevermind.)

[So About Byleths Father, Jeralt...]

If he's our biological father, I'm betting on his death. If the speculations are right and he's not (though the apparent lack of family ressemblance might not mean anything; Ike looked like his mom), he'll probably stick around at least long enough for an explanation.

If he does die, though, I'd expect some people in his mercenary group to resurface sooner or later. We'll be too busy teaching to succeed him, so either somebody else does and we run into the whole band later, or they disband and we'll maybe get to recruit a few of them at some point, when we start taking the students out of the school.

[Chinatsu Kurahana is Three Houses New Artist]

8 hours ago, starburst said:

Want to bet who will be the # 1 gay pick of this game, by far?

If you're going to bet on that (though this does feel patronizing, as others have said, even though as a wlw I'm not the intended target), you have to keep in mind that Claude has an unfair advantage over any competition except maybe male Byleth; he was in the first trailer, so people had the time to become fond of his design when they were only 4 characters to pay attention to, and we knew he was a lord of some kind and thus would have some plot relevance. Male Byleth was already identified as "you" (and I would love for him to be "the gay pick" if it means he can act on it, but I'd rather not get my hopes up yet) and Dimitri is held back by his hair, so if gay male players had "picked" anyone before last week, it was likely going to be Claude. Supporting characters who will get less screentime in the game proper might have trouble beating that headstart.

(Plus, yeah, communities aren't a hive mind. I know lesbians who find Camilla attractive while she does pretty much the opposite for me.)

Anyway, awesome edits again, @carefreejules ! Ashe looks as adorable as he's meant to be now, M!Byleth doesn't look like an unfeeling robot, and if this was F!Byleth's in-game portrait I would no longer have any hesitation about picking her, booty shorts be damned.

[Chinatsu Kurahana is Three Houses New Artist]

5 hours ago, carefreejules said:

I actually did my own edits last night and posted them on my tumblr and my art thread so here's the link if anyone is curious! 

It's not perfect by any means but it was a fun experimentation! 

It's amazing how much more alive they look when you simply add some depth to their eyes...  Much nicer to look at, too. Great job!

Edit: welp, that's pretty much what you just said, I didn't see it. orz

[Chinatsu Kurahana is Three Houses New Artist]

Seeing all these examples of what she can do, I'm even more disappointed that the art direction for this game went with her more plastic/cold/lifeless-looking UtaPri style rather than her art for Captive Prince or Samurai Flamenco. There was real potential there.

[How much does a character's performance as a unit affect whether or not you like him/her?]

1 hour ago, Critical Sniper said:

I'm talking about the radical fems but ok. Lol @bolded I'm playing way more because I've got more time and I'm not wasting my time on journalism to CNN xd. (That last part is assuming you do accept you're a rad fem)

EDIT: Rebecca is still my cute waifu hrmph!

My bad, then : you said Miriel was "a feminist", not radical, so I assumed that's what you meant in general and that you were referring to feminism as a whole by "radical demographic". (Since I've seen it done, usually by people expressing a similar distaste for "feminist" female characters.) Rad fems are a disgrace and I have nothing to do with them.

Good for you, I suppose.

[How much does a character's performance as a unit affect whether or not you like him/her?]

15 hours ago, Critical Sniper said:

but the only reason she has that trait is to appeal to the radical demographic that exists today (Lol do these fems even play videogames?

We do. As much, if not more, than you. But I wouldn't expect someone who uses the word waifu uncritically to believe that.

Personality and design over performance for me, though a unit I like being good will improve my opinion of them if only because it makes using them more fun. I'll grind for my favorites and feed them kills if that's needed, but I will make them work; on the other hand, if I don't like them, they're on the bench as soon as I can put them there, regardless of how useful they might be. (Hi Ryoma, bye Ryoma.)

[Official Camilla Discussion Thread]

8 hours ago, XRay said:

I feel like an old record repeating myself, but otakus are people. I could just as easily egg on non-otaku Fire Emblem fans for being narrow minded stingy prudes for allowing Fire Emblem to get to the point of being nearly axed by Nintendo, but I do not do that. It is rude, disrespectful, and super unproductive.

Nintendo allowed Fire Emblem to flop enough to be nearly axed because of their bad marketing. There's nothing in Tellius or the Archanea remakes that "stingy prudes" would have objected to enough not to buy the games.

[Voting Gauntlet: Mothers and Sons! (Jan 30th)]

I'm voting for Ethlyn, though I expect Leif to win against her. I get why the match-ups are like this, but it's still a shame, and they could have put these two against Cherche and Gerome to be a little more fair; I don't see either of them making it past Owain. (Then again, Cherche seems to be popular, and Thracia is Thracia, so it was probably doomed from the start either way no matter which 3ds pair they'd be facing.)

But eh, I love Lissa and like Owain, so I'll happily switch to whichever of the two beats Leif/Ethlyn when it happens.

(Why two Awakening duos, though? Couldn't they go with, I don't know, Nino and Raigh?)

[Would Ced be added in an FE4 or FE5 banner?]

I'd rather see him on an FE4 banner so there could be more spots for Thracia-only characters the next time IS remembers FE5 exists (especially since I don't think they would introduce two wind mages at the same time and I want Asvel), but if it's a choice between Ced or more alts as the face of the hypothetical next Thracia banner, by all means, put him in. (Unless the alt is Earth sword Nanna, that would be fine with me.)

[Tempest Trial+ : Life is But Fleeting (Dec 18th)]

4 minutes ago, Anacybele said:

Yeah, exactly. I might actually keep her though, if the dress is pretty enough. I was originally planning to fodder her since I'm not into her or FE6.

I'll keep her regardless (and not mind much since I'm not going to see her full art that often anyway), I depend on F2P guides too much to shoot myself in the foot by foddering a free unit. It will be like with Fjorm, you just learn to ignore the moments when you have to see That (in Fjorm's case, her injured face) on the screen.

[Tempest Trial+ : Life is But Fleeting (Dec 18th)]

29 minutes ago, Anacybele said:

Senri Kita, someone told you to make Cecilia three cup sizes bigger, make it look like her breasts are being stretched away from her chest, and make it look like the dress is falling down from them, right? Because this is the first time I've ever seen you do something so tasteless...

First time I've ever had any issue with Senri Kita art, EVER.

I have to agree. The art is beautiful as always, but I did a double take when I noticed Cecilia's chest, it's unusually fanservicey for Senri Kita. It's a shame, her outfit is pretty nice otherwise.

(Plus on top of looking like her breasts are stretched away, it makes the "dress with boobs-pockets" effect reaaally apparent. Her dress physically can't cling to the underside of her chest like this and then immediately cling to her torso, that's not... how clothes work...)

[What was / is your reaction to the music theme in the introduction cutscene of book 3?]

Didn't mind it in the Book III trailer, though I think it would have fit better without lyrics, but I wouldn't want it in the main series. Heroes can afford it because it spends so little effort on buiding its world or making us forget we're playing a mobile game that there isn't any suspension of disbelief to break by introducing music that doesn't fit; I'd expect better, or at least an attempt at making a more immersive story, from a main FE game.

[Pokemon/FE characters?]

Are we talking what Pokémon the characters would be (the vibe I get from the original post, but the replies make me doubt), or which one they would have on their team? Either way:

Soren: Umbreon (dark type, red eyes, having a strong friendship is integral to it being what it is), or maybe Absol (dark type, seen as bad luck).

Sanaki: a very haughty Vulpix.

Incineroar for Muarim (assumes the role of a bad guy, but is actually sweet, especially to children), possibly a Torchic for Tormod for no other reason than it's a fire baby and it feels like it would fit him.

Azura: Primarina (yes, I know, this joke has been made a million times already)

Mae: Togedemaru (it's always in "still hyper, let's go" mode) or Emolga.

[How Many of Your CYL2 Choices Made It In This Year?]

I didn't screenshot my votes, but I think my choices were Xane, Lewyn, Lethe, Jill, Ranulf, Maribelle and Orochi. 2 out of 7... could be worse, but it if was a test score, FEH would be failing.

(I'm still surprised that my Jugdral pick made it in but not my Fates one. Sure, plot relevance, but considering IS's biases, I'd have thought Orochi was a shoe-in.)

[What got you into Fire Emblem?]

I saw some nice fanart of Awakening (part of Ticcy's Very Chrobin Comic, to be exact), got curious about what it was from because I liked its aesthetic a lot, and since I vaguely remembered a friend mentioning Fire Emblem, I bought the game because I trusted her taste and the artist's. (In hindsight, that's not always the most reliable method to decide what to play, I'd do more research before buying a game nowadays, but it worked out.) I got hooked pretty much instantly, finished it in a few days and immediately started a new playthrough. It came up in conversation with said friend, and I didn't get her into Awakening but she got me into Tellius, then there was the Fates hype, so I started slowly discovering the rest of the series though LPs and emulators. I'll probably always be fond of Awakening, but I recently found an used copy of Blazing Sword (in english even though it was in a french shop, funnily enough), and though I'm not that far in the story yet and keep having to restart chapters, I can see why it got so many people into FE. I just regret that I didn't know about this franchise at a time where I could have acquired the games I like the normal way, now that emulation websites are being attacked and Tellius games cost an arm and a leg. (Put them on the switch, nintendo, I want to give you money for them but you're not making it easy.)

[New Heroes Appear: Adrift (November 9 ~)]

@Michelaar You're welcome, I saw other people suggest it and I didn't mean to single you out or criticize your take, but figured it might be worth saying because this comes from the DLC that wasn't localized (fan translation here if you're interested).

[New Heroes Appear: Adrift (November 9 ~)]

4 hours ago, Michelaar said:

My take is, This is the Young Azura that was ignored and miserable in Nohr before she was taken to Hoshido. This is her dream of having friends and being cared for. Camilla is the closest thing Azura has to a Nohrian mother, especially since I think Arete died at this point.

Camilla and Azura never interacted during Azura's time in Nohr (concubines war yo). Azura saw her from afar once and wished they could be friends, which I guess is as good an explanation for her inclusion in the banner as any (we all know it wasn't the main reason, but it's something at least), but she certainly wasn't anything close to a mother for the young Azura in this paralogue.

[New Heroes Appear: Adrift (November 9 ~)]

M!Corrin's clothes are now my favorite version of Azura's outfit/Vallite fashion in general. He looks fantastic in it, but I wish Azura and this version of F!Corrin could have worn it too - it's still got the same elegant and flowy aesthetic, but with the bonus of letting them be, you know, actually clothed.

Interesting concept for a banner, Camilla doesn't fit the theme but what else is new, curious to see what they will do with Azura.

[Who do you think should be in the next batch of heroes from Awakening?]

Gen 1: Say'ri (would probably need the Karla treatment to get in, but I'm biased and wouldn't mind in her case), Flavia, Basilio (not sure which weapons these two would come with, it would depend on whether IS wants to double on reds, greens, or not at all). A Walhart GHB would have been perfect for this banner, but we already have it, so no GHB (or a rerun) and maybe Yen'fay as TT reward.

I want Miriel in the game, too, but can't think of a banner for her except for the rest of the Shepherds, which at this point is just Vaike, Kellam and Ricken, and doesn't interests me much.

Gen 2: Noire (bow infantry), Nah (probably blue; I do like her and hate to think about the kind of audience her art and presentation would be geared towards, but gotta sell this banner), Laurent (red tome infantry, soon to be demoted). Brady for the TT reward to avoid double colorless on the banner and because I want him.