Hawkwing

...Where in the world did you get the impression that Stahl likes naps? If anything, I would have assumed that people thought his gimmick was that he liked to eat. But no, his "gimmick" is that he is a nice guy that likes to help people, and IS actually writes this part of him extremely well. Nearly every single conversation he has deals with him wishing to help others in issues both large and small, and a select few are conversations about other things entirely. Impressively, most of his conversations manage to be unique in how they play his nice guy traits, and they also show that he has a few flaws (he's a doormat, can't say "no" and is his own butt-monkey) and usually his love of eating is used to further or start a conversation. None of his supports revolve entirely around his love of food. Heck, in nearly all of Kellam's supports, the joke about him being hard to spot is usually only played in the first support, and then they get immediately to the meat of the support. The shepherds aren't needless jerks that f*ck around with Kellam because he's hard to spot. No, they usually are trying to find him in several supports, or they just happen to bump into him and decide to give him some company and start up a conversation.. It's often commented that he's not that hard to spot after a while, and the game shows that Kellam uses that time alone to think, and that he also has a very stubborn side. Extremely few supports dwell in the fact that he's hard to spot, as more often they play that joke once and then start a normal conversation. I say nearly all because if you asked me to write nearly 50-60 conversations for one character, of course I would write a few gems as well as a few crappy ones, and that's a result of being human more than anything else. Heck, I'm impressed that the number of good supports outnumber the bad ones in Awakening, even if the bad ones are complete sh*t. Donnel is a country boy, yes, but they also make it clear that he earns his aptitude skill by also having several moments of being clever both in handling problems, setting up traps, and showing that he loves learning and loves to read. I could go on, but I'm pressed for time in real life, but not every single character in Awakening revolves around a single gimmick. Do some characters rely their gimmick far more than others? Yes. Where some of these character types handled better in other games? Sometimes. Does this automatically make Awakenings cast bad. HECK NO! They twist up some ways these tropes have been played in the past, sometimes better, sometimes worse, but they aren't a complete slurry pit of writing inadequacy. IS had to write over 300 supports, and if anything else, they at least kept a consistent quality. Some conversations are the worst the series has ever seen, but some of its gems are also the best in the series. (Apologies for the frivolous swearing, but this complaint has been annoying me for a while, and I felt like I had to say something. I might edit this later when I have time and when I've calmed down).

For the trailer, I'll expect them to show off some character designs and cutscenes, set the tone the the game is aiming for, and then focus largely on explaining the improvements, expansions, and new features of the gameplay. I've said it before, but I really hope they show off the combat animations, as there are several ways they can take advantage of the switches power to As for the game itself: The protagonist won't wield a sword, or at least not immediately. They may or may not be female lead this time around, or they might try the dual protagonist angle again. They won't be royalty, or at least, not the prince or princess of the realm. At most, they'll be a lord among several other lords. They may or may not have an avatar: If they do, they'll have enough importance to have a reason for being in the story and will have some chances to interact with it, but in the grand scheme of things won't be the driving force of the plot or anything like that. It could be interesting if the player gets to decide how important or involved they get into the plot Gameplaywise, I could see them not only providing more options for customizing the look of the avatar (potentially including armor clothing and color) but also expanding upon their beginning stats, growth rates, class, etcetera. They may even take the path of choosing past events that the character went through, and have the stats be determined from that, and/or have the trait/perk system from fallout where you can take a perk that has both an advantage and a disadvantage (something like sacrificing critical hit chance for greater base strength, or having greater dodge chance at the cost of lower hp, and so on and so forth). The characters will probably be along the lines of Echoes; grounded, likable, and inoffensive but not quite as deep as other examples in the series. We'll definitely have our fair-share of quirky characters, but they won't make up the majority, and their quirks won't be the only aspect of their character. The fan-service and marriage stuff will still be present, but downplayed and potentially optional. It'll be there for those that are interested, but it won't be forced upon the player. We'll be given more options for unit customization. It won't be anything to large, and I doubt they'll The story won't be outstanding, but it won't retread old ground either. They'll focus on giving us an overall solid narrative rather than giving us something epic and ambitious, but potentially flawed. They'll clean up as many plot holes as they can, won't overstep their boundaries, but will still aim to provide a satisfying and well-done story at the end of the day. The conflict will be human-focused and grounded in reality. Dragons (and potentially shapeshifters) will at most be side character's, and we'll see some more unique designs of them instead of the usual "female child" or "old man" of previous games. The final boss also won't be a dragon (unless they manage to pull off a really strong, though-out, unique, and overall well-done twist on this trope). The tone will probably be neutral on the dark/lighthearted scale. We'll definitely get some extremely dark moments in the story that won't come off as forced, but we'll also get several moments of genuine hope and good-humor, and will try to balance them out so that one doesn't overshadow the other, and unless it's intentional, mood whiplash won't They'll take what worked, fix or drop what didn't work from past titles, and will have some new additions to the overall gameplay. The game will probably be complex without being overwhelming, and will try to avoid some of the more annoying aspects of the series (such as ambush spawns, fog of war, unbalanced difficulty, badly planned permadeath, etc.). The support system will be a mixture of Echoes and the GBA games (and maybe Tellius but I haven't played those games yet), being easy to unlock and limited in quantity, but with higher quality. The combat animations will be fluid, down-to-earth, and hopefully realistic. That being said, they won't shy away from a few over-the-top attacks. Clothing damage may be present, but it'll be more logical and painful than fan-servicy and hilarious. On a side note, I question whether or not they'll include blood in the next title. I know that games like Mount and Blade and Lugaru manage to have blood and still be rated T (mostly because the blood only appears when an attack should draw blood, instead of it egregiously appearing every single hit, and even then the effects are small and realistic instead of gratuitous) but I don't know if it would be fitting for a series like Fire Emblem and if would help exemplify the "war is hell" part of the series, or if it would be out of place and a step to far. I also hope they make better use of the environment, with trees falling from missed attacks, missed arrows sticking to walls, both sides using tables, chairs, sticks, bricks, and whatever they can to distract or damage the other side. I could go with this part for a long while, but you get the idea. They'll try to bridge the gap between old and new fans, but will go about this task subtly rather than announce it. They'll try to appeal to both sides without going choosing one over the other. I doubt that this is their focus goal, however, and they'll aim on creating a great game first I know this is a long list, and I tried to be optimistic without going overboard. I'm hopeful for this game, but I'm keeping it in check.

Mage!Kliff is far from bad, although his usefulness depends on how well you utilize his wide pool of spells. His large spell pool sounds great on paper, but it depends on the person if it works well in practice. The reason that Mage!Tobin is pushed so much is because of his early access to excalibur, and for some people, that's all they need. That being said, I do think that the mercenary and cavalier are better options for him, as they take advantage of his great growths, and he has have less of potential having falling behind.

I can't tell if you ignored my point about his supports, or if none you've read have stood out to you. I don't blame you, Awakenings support system is a double-edged sword when it comes to characterization (you'll either get a really good conversation, or a really bad one, or something in-between). I disagree about his class options being bad, but that's because I'm fine working with myrmidons, and as I said, changing him into a fighter means he can become a hero, making him both fast AND strong. Considering everyone has a different play-style with Fire Emblem games, I can see how you may think his options are bad.

I looked through that too, and despite the warped translation that google provides, it seems that the character backstory's are about things hinted at but not found in the game, and they're pretty interesting to boot. I'll echo (heh) the previous statements that we're looking forward to this, but don't rush or overwork yourself.

I... don't know what that phrase means. He is the most powerful magic user in every single one of my play-throughs, but I can see why other's consider him redundant (especially since some of Laurent's use personally comes from my lack of skill with using dark mages). So use it when you play the game again! Seriously, though, that's what I'm planning to do.

Although I'm happy that he's the only character with a guaranteed happy marriage, I wish Stahl's ending told us more of what his wife actually did. Laurent is an overpowered mage in a game with overpowered mages. Thankfully, very few supports actually play with Kellams lack of presence joke for more than one support. Sadly, they didn't take advantage of showing off his thoughtful side more. Many of Panne's supports can be read as her either not trusting humans yet OR her just being antisocial, but she can be an uncalled for jerk in more than a few conversations. Also, as much as I like the Taguel class for ignoring the weapon triangle, it's not a very good class in the long run, and part of the reason I use it is so I can un-ironically enjoy a bunny warrior tearing things to shreds in a game other than Lugaru. The Taugel themselves needed some backstory that sadly was never given. Also she isn't wearing pants, and I wanted brain bleach when I first realized this. It ain't that bad, but Lukas is a knight. Kamui's support with Leon isn't that good, and I wish we got more characterization with him. Just give him the pitchfork, and his speed will be okay, and magic won't kill him instantly. And he'll still have the strength and defense growths of a knight, so be prepared for him to wreck everything in his path.

He has a strong support with Maribel (and a few other gems here and there). He has one of the funnier recruitments speeches in the series. HIs growths rock, so do his reclass options (becoming a myrmidon literally has no downsides for him. He sacrifices a few stats to become a fighter, but he is still a fast and accurate axe-user, and if he promotes into a hero, his sword stat is put to use, and he overall becomes a master-of-all kind of unit), and he gives his daughter the pegasus knight class. There you go. As for the topic itself: Tharja is the mother of Noire, she has some strong supports, and I glad that people get a use out of her class (I'm personally not that good at using Dark mages in Awakening).

Probably not, but after giving it some thought, it actually is one unique way to view the overall story. At least in personality. Gameplaywise, Alm is basically a better-balanced fighter that doesn't use axes and can hit something, while Celica is almost a pre-promoted mage with a third tier class. Neither of them have the growths typical for the archetype.

There's a reason I hate the "everyone's a trope" complaint about Awakening (haven't played Fates), yet I can't blame anyone for having it. It's a gross summarization of a cast who appears one-note at first glance, but they gain more depth and characterization the more you dive into their supports and backstory. At the same time, Awakenings support system is a very sharp double edged sword. Seriously, go onto the Fire Emblem Wiki, pick a character, and just read through their supports, and you'll as easily come across some of the best written supports in the series, along with something that was clearly written, edited, and finalized in 5-10 minutes so the writer could make the lunch break on time. As for the topic itself, I'd personally like it if they went the path that Battle for Wesnoth went and have multiple stories, each with their own unique mechanics and difficulty, and well as allowing IS to update the game as they please, but I know full well of the downsides of this path as well. In general, I'd like a human based conflict with multiple endings which are dependent on the choices made both in gameplay and in the story. I'd like the grey morality to be handled a bit more how is in Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction (where some sides clearly have a higher moral ground than others, but all sides have some flaws that prevent them from being fully supportable, yet only one faction is truly evil, and each side has their virtues) than the typical grey vs gray fare, with the ability to play as a different side after beating the game. I also wouldn't mind if dragons and shapeshifters appeared in the story, but more as side characters and mercenaries than blatant good/bad guys, with them either trying to avoid the conflict altogether, or them trying to use it in a way that benefits them (although I want a dragon to serve as the dragon and to be the second-to-final boss instead of the final one. On that note, I'd also like it if dragon bosses and allies were more common, and if they had some more unique designs on top of that). I also posted an idea a while ago on several different threads about how I think the "Claimant & Ruler" situations from Mount and Blade could work in a Fire Emblem game, and if you're curious:

The range of Echoes bows. Maybe with a few adjustments in the next game, but they made archers unique and practical. Third Tier promotions and/or different promotion classes. They're both interesting mechanics that work very well. Continue putting twists on archetypes, whether it be through classes and/or personalities. Each support system did something right and something wrong, but regardless, it's a unique mechanic that provides both gameplay bonuses and character development. The grounded class designs of Echoes. From it's inception, the series manages to be very dark and deals with mature topics, while not overstepping their boundaries and for keeping the games rated T. Even the more lighthearted entries aren't afraid to show this aspect of Fire Emblem.

...Shadow Jago, who was introduced a few pages back by @Hawkwing and they decided that he was the reason this thread was so slow at times, and also figured that if they didn't practice for defeating him now, his perfect-play AI would bring their whole conquest to a halt. When trying to buy the game for practice, however...

I haven't played Fates, but I know that Awakening was actually pretty good with this. Cordelia has access to every weapon type in the game, and is considered an ace. Both of Donnels classes can promote into a hero. Kellam lack of presence makes him an excellent thief, but his desire to help people explains why he can become a priest. Plus, healers are best kept out of battle entirely, so his skill in stealth can be put to use there. Ricken looks up to Chrom, and thus has his same reclassing options. Although it's probably because Panne was planned to be a pegasus rider before it was changed to a wyvern rider, it makes sense that Yarne wouldn't be brave enough to ride a dragon, and thus can't inherit it from her alone. Everyone who can reclass into a dark mage has some kind of dark past and/or thoughts/intentions. Robins is a spoiler (that everyone knows about), Miriel could be willing to explore dark magic "for science," Cordelia is clearly affected by her unrequited love for Chrom, Libra had an extremely harsh childhood, Tharja frequently uses curses, and Henry has an unhealthy interest in death. As for the child characters, all of them grew up in an apocalypse, but as for those who start with the class: Laurent had to survive on his one for 5 years in an unfamiliar land, and has feared going mad several times, Noire is clearly affected by her mother's curses and influence, and Sereva is a jerk grew up in her mothers shadow.

As an elf in the world of Wesnoth, my avatar definitely wouldn't be evil. As the villian, however, they probably would be a racist jerk, and as the final boss, was a key player in provoking an opposing nation of orcs and/or men into attacking the elves, setting off a war in order to eliminate the his closest (potential) enemies. As a boss, he would have the marksman skill, locking every ranged attack at an 80% chance to hit, regardless of stats, and would also have a skill that allows them to attack a maximum of four times at range. Melee range is his achilles heel, however, as then they have to follow the same rules as everyone else. I'd play it, even if I don't play Wesnoth as much as I'd like to. This topic is going to become interesting and weird anytime someone changes their avatar. EDIT: So after changing my avatar... Link is always the final boss to every mook, mid-boss, boss, and even final boss in the Legend of Zelda series, so the would be a perspective flip as you play as the bad guys for once. That or the iphone game Link's playing is determined to defeat/annoy the player at any cost. And is succeeding.

Interesting. Were their battle sprites any different, or was it the same model regardless of gender? Also, I doubt that they were worried about player's not wanting to kill female enemies. After all, why would they give you so many female units in a game series with permadeath? I am ultimately curious as to why they never attempted to use the female battle models in any game if they went through the trouble of making them. It almost seems like a waste of resources, honestly.

...the conquerors with satire, media, and harsh language. Unfamiliar to these kind of threats, the conquerers sought out the advice of...

A pragmatic villain with several virtues. A person who has serval complex yet understandable and sensible plans and can execute them with scary complexity. They are human and can still make mistakes, but remain dignified and level-headed in defeat and know how to make the best of any failure. They don't commit needless atrocities not because they are good, but because they don't see the point or anything to gain, but are willing to use underhanded tactics if it's the only way to win Honestly, I would be perfectly fine with the the Fire Emblem version of Grand Admiral Thrawn, but with enough uniqueness that it isn't a blatant copy-paste. I've read from TV Tropes that Hawk from Advance Wars fits this archetype, so IS potentially knows how to write one, although I haven't played the games myself and thus can't comment on his actual character.

People complaining about every little thing in the series. Whenever the games have permadeath but aren't designed with it in mind. The games never telling you how many support points someone has with another unit. The games never telling you a units growth rates directly. Especially since they could display this information in another slide/page in some games. It was a neat twist that the most powerful dragon in the world looked like a little girl the first time around, but did they really need to play this trope straight every other time? They go through the effort of creating male and female variations of classes, but then make every enemy unit a male. C'mon, you went through the trouble of modeling two different versions of the same class, so why don't you use them?! Most of the series final bosses are dragons. I actually don't mind this in concept, I just wish the fights were more interesting and unique (and that there are more dragon fights elsewhere in the game). You have to play half the series via emulator.

I wouldn't mind fighting multiple enemy nations in the next game, if only to have a mêlée à Trois level. BUT only IF they manage to be distinct from each other both aesthetically and in their politics, beliefs, resources, etc. One of the first topics I made was a discussion on the cosmetics for the Switch game, and summarized, the knights of nation A should look different and distinct from the knights of nation B. Bandits should look as if they're just wearing civilian cloths, and whatever they could find, from pots to pans or leather, would make up their "armor," while the later enemies should look professional and practical. I also suggested that, because I wanted the faces/looks of your enemies to be randomized, that there would be a ratio of males to female enemy units you face, and it would differ depending on the nation. It would be one way to see the female classes more often, while also showing whether a nation is egalitarian, doesn't mind letting women fight, is reluctant to do so, or prohibits it altogether. I remember it being a bit immersion-breaking in Awakening knowing that the same fighter I'm fighting in a professional army has the same design as a the fighter that works as a bandit, or that the Grimleaf have the same unit designs as a completely different nation. It would be a lot more work, that's for sure, but it would help make each nation unique instead of making it seem as if each country bought their armor at the same store. As for being different in politics, I haven't played the Tellius or Judgral games yet, but I have heard that those games did this aspect particularly well. Heck, I'd be satisfied if they did something like like in gaiden/echoes, where you're told the major differences between nations, but learn the finer parts through optional conversations.

I'd like a sequel to Shadows of Valentia. I've given my exact thoughts of how I personally want it play out elsewhere, but I think it would be a great chance to expand upon Alm and Celica's characters, see some interactions between characters who didn't in the original game, build upon the worldbuilding, and provide IS the chance to fix, or at least mend, some of the flaws in the original game, both plot and gameplay-wise. It's small, but I think that a short but sweet comic series on what misadventures the Awakening children got into before getting recruited could do fairly well. There would be great chances for comedy, and it would help explain how and why each character is stuck in their own predicaments by the time you requite them. It would also the provide the chance to add more worldbuilding to the pretty barebones world of Awakening too, and to see these characters again.

As in, Gaiden balanced the classes better, or Echoes did? I can see the reasoning for either game, so do you care to explain?

^ Once had their Member Title saying something along the lines of "Cleric Dawn sees something NSFW." < Was convinced by a friend to download Discord so that we could talk for more than once a week (since I only saw him at church) and so we could discuss our story ideas/observations more throughly. It took 4-5 months before he finally memorized my username and ID number thing and we could actually communicate. V Has used a flashlight as a lightsaber and has attempted to use the Force.

I meant to say Duma's Temple. I haven't played the game in a while, and am actually planning on playing the game again soon. Anyway, after rereading the section from a lets play of the original game for reference, I can see gimmick maps working, and I do find some of them to be pretty interesting (such as the levels where the level slowly floods, encouraging you attack hastily, or ones that have floor switches and walls). I also like your idea of the enemies from the final battle appearing earlier as bosses, as they all have unique portraits, and it would be cool to give them even a little character and to establish them as legitimate threats. I can understand why IS cut the gimmicks out, though, as it would have been more work to build something that would only be used once or twice, would only appear in the final stretch of the game without any references to the mechanics beforehand, and had the potential to be confusing and divisive among players.

Differing perspectives, I suppose. I personally think they look like they earn their status of being the sole enemies of the ocean shrine, and a worthy opponent everywhere else, but I can see how other's can see the necrodragons new design as a disappointment. I know 'a--' is one, or at least it's lost much of it's original meaning of an alternative word for donkey, and I know that it causes the more dirty minded to snicker, so I came to believe that bada-- is a swear word. It was basically a marathon level in the original gaiden, and even in the remake, Duma's tower is the longest dungeon in the game (not counting Thabe's Labyrinth), so I can see how someone who doesn't like the gimmicks could believe that the level is more of a slog that it already is. As for Celica's group, it's just the fact that you can't bring everyone to the final battle this time around (for some reason), and I can see it being more annoying than interesting for some people having to spend a few turns healing them up before using them. These aren't major changes, of course, but I can see why their potential divisiveness led to IS deciding to remove them.

I... fail to see how improving the lords is a bad thing. Heck, EVERYONE got improved growth rates in the new game. If anything, a lot of units are more viable now that they were in the original gaiden. Also, of course a single unit could solo a game. They're the only ones gaining the experience, and they're hogging all the equipment and healing items. Granted, though, everyone play's Fire Emblem differently, and I happen to enjoy the "use everyone, bench no-one" approach. I also find the "one-man army/solo runs" to be more entertaining in theory than in practice. I think it's hinted at that they're actually undead wyverns. Also, where did you get the impression that they're three feet tall? They don't exactly tower over your units, but they're at least 8-10 feet tall (maybe, as I'm not good at measuring distance without a reference, but they definitely bigger than three feet). They have the stats to back up their status as mini-bosses or elite mooks in both games, so I guess His... name is Bahdess. Nonsensical, yeah, but I don't really see the connection to a swear word (unless you're dirty minded). (On a completely unrelated note, how did the word bada-- get to mean "awesome person?" It really means that someone has a bad-looking bottom or is a worthless donkey. Then again, Andrew Jackson did take the insult "jacka--" as a compliment..., and now you know where the democratic party got it's mascot). As for the gimmicks in the original final dungeon... part of me misses them, as some of the ideas where actually kind of cool, but I can also see why they didn't come back, as it's likely that it would have been highly divisive. It doesn't help that Act 5 is basically a marathon run, which would have just made the strengths and flaws of said gimmicks more apparent. As for Celica's team taking damage, it would be a cool way to mix gameplay and story, as well as encouraging the player not to dilly-dally and to take the riddles, as well as the decision to hunt for more treasure or to go directly the final battle, more seriously, but again, it could also be seem as a needless gimmick that just prioritizes Alm's group over Celica's during the final battle.