All the (mostly minor) characters who should have debuted as Seasonals because they have basically no chance of getting in on a regular banner

[Jotari]

I was saying the other day on the new heroes thread the other day how I wish seasonals would go for more obscure characters to include a wider range of characters in the series. I cite Greil, who himself isn't really a minor or obscure character, but whose position puts him in an awkward spot for regular banners, as an example of what I mean.  Basically a character using their default design, but getting put in the game as a seasonal unit. Well, here is my list of other characters I feel should have, or should get that treatment. I acknowledge that catering towards these obscure niche picks is probably not the best fiscal idea when you can just throw a Fates or Fodlan character in a bikini and make big bucks.

 

Ninja

Omozu, the generic Fates boss who isn't capturable, and thus no one remembers he exists. You fight him in the prologue. He doesn't even have the honor of being the first Ninja enemy or boss you fight, that's Kaze, but he needs some love, dammnit.

Halloween

Legion. Yes, we already got him in the game, but if he was put in on a Halloween banner we could open up his GHB spot to someone else.

Marla and Hestia, they already look like Witches, and Shadows of Valentia's situation for GHB units is already in dire straits compared to its remaining playable cast.

Scion of the Twelve (that one banner with Duo Seliph-Leif)

Musar, the Mage Knight who attacks from the north in Chapter 9 of Genealogy of the Holy War. He has Holy Blood. Much more interesting than Scion Lewyn, he has a horsie.

Pirates

Gazzak, first boss in the series. That counts for something in my book.

Fargus. Yes, another character who we did end up getting as a GHB who could have open up a GHB slot if introduced here

Seeker, the actual bird laguz pirate who was shafted twice by Tibran and Naesala

 

Wedding

Chrom's Maiden, for this one though I think she could wear a dress instead of her default garb

Children

Amy. Make it clear she got transported in with the child versions of Ike and Mist etc by accident and isn't from the same time frame as them.

Valentines

Binding Blade Eliwood and Hector, specifically on the Valentine's Day banner where Eliwood And Hector are hanging out with Roy and Lillina. Said banner would have worked much better without the time travel

Funke, dude literally carries around a freaking rose, so of course he can go on a Valentine's day banner

Plegia

Chalard, the Plegian Mage chasing Nowi in the desert, on a banner about Plegian mages in the desert

Khadein

Yoder, the Khadein boss too minor to ever even be considered for GHB

Arcadia

The Elder of Arcadia. There is no character too minor for me to stan for

Flame Tribe

Capturable boss Kumagera, I don't think he's ever expressly identified as Flame Tribe, but what else am I meant to be interpret Oni Chiften as if not something to do with Rinkah's culture?

Ice Tribe

Kilma, Felicia and Flora's father. This banner hasn't happened yet, but I doubt they'll include him and talk of that was one of the inspirations for this thread

New Years

Daichi, I don't know if I'm right, but he looks like he's meant to be donning some kind of Kabuki or stage play outfit, and while that's not a direct tie to New Year's, the New Year's banner is the thinly veiled Japanese culture banner

Picnic

Senno, the Merchant boss. If you've ever actually been to Cherry Blossom viewing in Japan you'd know there's just a whole bunch of people trying to sell shit everywhere, so Senno would fit in perfectly

Dancers
Layla, the character most known for being on CYL over someone like Kotaro despite her appearing in just one scene. I don't think she should be on a regular banner, but performing arts was a seasonal back in the day and she'd be perfect there.

Fancy Ball (Masquerade)

Kurth and/or his father Azmur. These banners are all about the courtly ball, so having the prince or heir hosting the ball (probably as a Duo unit) would fit, and despite being very important characters in universe, we'll almost certainly never see them any other way. Really there's a bunch of Jugdral NPCs I'd like to put here, like Byron, Lahna, Eve/Eva/Alva, but I'll restrain myself to just these two

Mostyn, Shiida's father. I think these actual banners were pretty Jugdral focused, but I feel an exception could be made for him (and Hardin's Brother)

The other seasonal banners I think they've done are Hot Springs, Wind Tribe, Spring, Summer and Winter, none of which I have any ideas for. Panne and Yarne could certainly be on the Spring Banner, but I tried to limit things to enemy and npcs rather than proper playable characters who all have a chance to get in on New Heroes banners. If there was a minor Taguel boss I would put them on the Spring Banner in a Heartbeat.  Winter's aestetic is a bit too specialized, no regular Fire Emblem character looks like that, and I can't think of anyone who is in beach/bath wear by default for the summer or hot springs banner. And finally, I can't think of anyone aside from Fuga or Hayato that seems Wind Tribe affiliated.

Edited March 20 by Jotari

[Mercakete]

4 hours ago, Jotari said:

Basically a character using their default design, but getting put in the game as a seasonal unit.

This is the thing I have the most issue with in this concept.

I like that they give alternative, seasonal outfits to characters. It shows another side of them, and connects them to the player in a new way -- specifically, in a way that the player is familiar with (celebrating things together that both of our worlds can agree on, such as the seasons.) I actually think IS has been doing a fantastic job with this, too, making the seasonal celebrations something that the heroes would realistically celebrate/a holiday they could come up with themselves, while also having it be reminiscent of our world's holidays. It's also a great marketing opportunity, partially for these reasons, and partially because more designs mean more selling potential, as well as character/world exploration.

Base designs are okay, but very limited. Once you've used an outfit, it's been used, and it's an absolute waste to use a base design for a seasonal holiday when it doesn't "go with" all the other ones. Seasonals are for exploring a new design, a new aspect of the character/world, and connecting in a new way with the player. That's how I view it, not only as a player of FEH, but as someone who creates, myself. It would be like if you only ever say your friends in one outfit and you never dressed up for anything special. It doesn't feel like you're close to that person at all.

I love the idea of obscure characters coming into Heroes, but I think they should come in where they make sense to, and if it's on a seasonal banner, then they need a new outfit that matches (not exactly, but with similar design elements) the other characters on that banner. (For example, not all Day of Devotion outfits carry the same theme. The Askran one had white togas with a dyed gradient in them, while this year's focused on leaves and flowers.) This is just good marketing/design/worldbuilding/character exploration/"collect them all!"-style set distinction. It makes you excited for what new things will come next, and is a formula that's proven itself even in other mediums (pins, buttons, figures, art prints, keychains, etc.) to be something that works and that people enjoy. It makes the collection aspect remain fresh, while bringing old characters back in a way that even people unfamiliar with them can discover and enjoy them. Ultimately, I think it's good for the worlds, characters, business, and most players (but I recognize that there are staunch traditionalists who hate any kind of design change too, and for different reasons. I'm not about to put everyone who arrives at this conclusion into a single box as to why they don't like the new stuff. Their opinions matter too.)

Anyway, that's my take. Like and wish for what you want, of course. I just thought that if you're making a whole thread about it, then I may as well just drop another perspective here for the sake of formulating a more composite thought/considering other sides before deciding on what IS "should" do.

[Jotari]

4 minutes ago, Mercakete said:

This is the thing I have the most issue with in this concept.

I like that they give alternative, seasonal outfits to characters. It shows another side of them, and connects them to the player in a new way -- specifically, in a way that the player is familiar with (celebrating things together that both of our worlds can agree on, such as the seasons.) I actually think IS has been doing a fantastic job with this, too, making the seasonal celebrations something that the heroes would realistically celebrate/a holiday they could come up with themselves, while also having it be reminiscent of our world's holidays. It's also a great marketing opportunity, partially for these reasons, and partially because more designs mean more selling potential, as well as character/world exploration.

Base designs are okay, but very limited. Once you've used an outfit, it's been used, and it's an absolute waste to use a base design for a seasonal holiday when it doesn't "go with" all the other ones. Seasonals are for exploring a new design, a new aspect of the character/world, and connecting in a new way with the player. That's how I view it, not only as a player of FEH, but as someone who creates, myself. It would be like if you only ever say your friends in one outfit and you never dressed up for anything special. It doesn't feel like you're close to that person at all.

I love the idea of obscure characters coming into Heroes, but I think they should come in where they make sense to, and if it's on a seasonal banner, then they need a new outfit that matches (not exactly, but with similar design elements) the other characters on that banner. (For example, not all Day of Devotion outfits carry the same theme. The Askran one had white togas with a dyed gradient in them, while this year's focused on leaves and flowers.) This is just good marketing/design/worldbuilding/character exploration/"collect them all!"-style set distinction. It makes you excited for what new things will come next, and is a formula that's proven itself even in other mediums (pins, buttons, figures, art prints, keychains, etc.) to be something that works and that people enjoy. It makes the collection aspect remain fresh, while bringing old characters back in a way that even people unfamiliar with them can discover and enjoy them. Ultimately, I think it's good for the worlds, characters, business, and most players (but I recognize that there are staunch traditionalists who hate any kind of design change too, and for different reasons. I'm not about to put everyone who arrives at this conclusion into a single box as to why they don't like the new stuff. Their opinions matter too.)

Anyway, that's my take. Like and wish for what you want, of course. I just thought that if you're making a whole thread about it, then I may as well just drop another perspective here for the sake of formulating a more composite thought/considering other sides before deciding on what IS "should" do.

I don't think the selections I've picked are out of design with the banners so to speak. And things wouldn't of course need to be strict on base design.

As I said, Valentine's Day Greil is what I present as the template for the idea. That is Base Greil Design, but, at the same time, it's not quite exactly. He has the same palette, but it's less militerized, not at quite armour, though with the colour and style to be reminiscent of that. They also added tassels and give him a flower to hold, and, of course, he has a silly seasonal weapon in the form of his axe. It's close enough to base Greil as to be similar to anyone else getting into Heroes and having slight modifications to his outfit for artistic consistency. That's the sweet spot I'm really going for. Of course there should be visual unity in the banner as a whole. Like, I'm not saying we should just stick something that obviously doesn't look designed in the middle of a banner where everyone else is on theme. But I went for choices where characters in their default outfit already fit the design. Like, the pirates and the ninjas are already dressed as pirates and ninja. A little could be done to play into the over the top stereotype those banners went for, but you wouldn't have to change much. Likewise, I chose Legion, Marla and Hestia for a Halloween banner because they already look like they're playing Halloween dress up in their original design. All the tribal or national representation banners use characters who are already from that culture that the banner itself is taking design elements from. And then other characters don't even have a proper outfit to begin with, like Azmur, Kurth and Musar, they just have mugs with barely any of their clothes seen, so a fancied up garb of what it looks like they could be wearing is fair game.

 

[Zapp Branniglenn]

This inspired me to Google whether Manuela made it in on a Dancer banner themed after the Three Houses prom night and boy did they F up that obvious idea. What does she have to do with Christmas? She's a renowned performer throughout the Empire and let's be honest SHOULD have been THE Dancer of Three Houses rather than letting us choose.

[Acacia Sgt]

6 minutes ago, Zapp Branniglenn said:

What does she have to do with Christmas?

Christmas Cake.

---

I'd say, better what FEH already does in cases like Darros. Put in seasonal but also dressed for the part.

[Tybrosion]

48 minutes ago, Zapp Branniglenn said:

What does she have to do with Christmas?

Manuela is a character from Three Houses, and IS has not allowed the Christmas banner to not have at least one character from Three Houses since 2019.

[Jotari]

6 hours ago, Zapp Branniglenn said:

This inspired me to Google whether Manuela made it in on a Dancer banner themed after the Three Houses prom night and boy did they F up that obvious idea. What does she have to do with Christmas? She's a renowned performer throughout the Empire and let's be honest SHOULD have been THE Dancer of Three Houses rather than letting us choose.

Manuela should have been the dancer, and you should have been able to choose who the dancer is. Because, imo, they should have had the balls to remove your entire Black Eagles army in Silver Snow and replace it with the Church staff who would be exclusive or semi exclusive to that route.

[Acacia Sgt]

25 minutes ago, Jotari said:

Manuela should have been the dancer, and you should have been able to choose who the dancer is. Because, imo, they should have had the balls to remove your entire Black Eagles army in Silver Snow and replace it with the Church staff who would be exclusive or semi exclusive to that route.

I think it's more that they didn't had them to remove Edelgard in a permanent capacity, considering SS came first.

[Jotari]

25 minutes ago, Acacia Sgt said:

I think it's more that they didn't had them to remove Edelgard in a permanent capacity, considering SS came first.

But they did remove Edelgard permanently (despite her being my designated dancer and having my movement ring T.T)

[Acacia Sgt]

Just now, Jotari said:

But they did remove Edelgard permanently (despite her being my designated dancer and having my movement ring T.T)

Yeah, but there is a choice to keep her, that's the point.

[Jotari]

Just now, Acacia Sgt said:

Yeah, but there is a choice to keep her, that's the point.

I don't really see your point, to be honest. There is a route where you can lose her completely and a route where you go with her. What I said is that the entirety of the Black Eagles should be treated the same way, so we don't get a case where they're flipflopping their loyalties.

[Mercakete]

On 3/20/2024 at 4:23 AM, Jotari said:

-snip-

Ahhh okay, in that case, I actually really like where you're coming from! It was just the wording before that gave me a faulty impression of what you meant. I'm all for theming more than just costumes, but the characters themselves. Like, I came up with a banner at one point focusing primarily on 3 Houses characters who were afraid of ghosts (Anette, Alois, Ashe), but also included someone who loved ghost stories (Mercedes) and who gets mistaken for a ghost (Marianne.) I know it's really Blue Lions heavy, but the story behind it was that the students from that house were given the task of investigating a haunted house (with Alois as supervision.) Turned out to just be Marianne.

[Jotari]

8 hours ago, Mercakete said:

Ahhh okay, in that case, I actually really like where you're coming from! It was just the wording before that gave me a faulty impression of what you meant. I'm all for theming more than just costumes, but the characters themselves. Like, I came up with a banner at one point focusing primarily on 3 Houses characters who were afraid of ghosts (Anette, Alois, Ashe), but also included someone who loved ghost stories (Mercedes) and who gets mistaken for a ghost (Marianne.) I know it's really Blue Lions heavy, but the story behind it was that the students from that house were given the task of investigating a haunted house (with Alois as supervision.) Turned out to just be Marianne.

See if that were me I'd be using it as an excuse to put in Book 2 Ghost Gharnef.