Personalities

[Wizard]

I was looking around Gamefaqs the other day and found a post that said something along the lines of this: (I corrected the bad grammar...)

'All of the girls in this game have interesting personalities, but the only boys who do are Owain and Inigo.'

I found this a little strange... I mean, how can you play through a game where you kinda have to make marriages happen, then not like most of the male characters? Weird...

Anyway: I'd like to discuss with you guys who really stood out to you in Awakening on the personality side of things.

For me, it was Basilio. As soon as I saw that guy, I wanted him in my army... It's a shame it takes so long for him to join. I'd have preferred that him and Flavia had joined during the battle with Gangrel unpromoted at level 10.

Edited July 30, 2013 by TheWarpedWizard

[1% critted]

Gregor and Henry are males and don't have interesting personalities. Only on GFAQs, people.

[singularity]

GameFAQs are bunch of silly billies who praises Owain like a bacon.

Libra and Cordelia are my faves but with different ways(Cordelia is first love, Libra grew on me).

[Vashiane]

On the contrary, I actually think the males have more tolerable/interesting personalities than the girls. The girls are, on average, more reliant on gimmicks than having actual personality to them, unlike the boys who sway in the other direction. Once again, this is an opinion of mine so take it with a grain of salt if you disagree.

[Shengar]

It's Gamefaqs. In one point they will rage on Roger Ebert remarks "video game isn't art". Then in other chance they will say "it just a game lol" or "I read book or go watch movies for story" when discussing luddonarrative dissonance in Uncharted or FF.

Well, on topic, while Awakening's cast is clearly not the best of the bunch, but I found them tolerable. It is not because they are reliant on gimmick. One-dimensional character isn't that bad and sometimes it necessary to write that kind of character for a story especially a story with huge cast like Awakening. The key to make this premise interesting in execution is to make the interaction between characters as interesting as possible. This is where Awakening failing come. The majority of the support conversation are "miss" rather than "hit". Some also handled and directed terribly even when they hold interesting premise within those support conversation. But support conversation isn't just some chit-chat between two lunatic quirk people. If you can't cook up an interesting conversation between two quirkiness, one could replace it with something more substance ridden like a character backstory. In that regard, most of the male characters actually have more expanded backstory via support conversation than the female characters, which make them more fleshed out and have some "personality" beyond their gimmick. If anybody said that the male characters have lesser "personality" than the female characters, it is either they just pay attention to their waifu, have extreme bias, or both.

Edited July 30, 2013 by Shengar

[Anacybele]

Whoever says not many of the male characters have interesting personalities is wrong, imo.

And anyone here knows I love Frederick to bits and also adore Stahl, Gaius, Lon'qu, Virion, and Donnel. I do still like some females too though, namely Cordelia, Cherche, and Sully.

The men still grabbed me more though, especially since Frederick is my favorite character. I just found him totally lovable in every way! His seriousness makes me giggle and I love how he hides a soft side behind that. He can be so charming and such a big sweetheart. He even gives hugs! No wonder the female Avatar calls him Freddy Bear. XD. And there's also the drama in his supports with the Avatar and Panne lol. And still another, more sensitive side due to the trauma he suffered as a young boy.

I find Freddy to be the deepest and most complex Jagen yet. I also think he's hot. X3. There is really nothing I don't love about him.

[Rainbow Skittles]

freddy isn't a jeigan

the only people i really like in this game are stahl and cherche. they are cool peeps, and don't really have a gimmick. the other chars just seem like walking talking gimmicks sometimes, except fred, but i find him kinda bland (sorry ana).

[shadowofchaos]

Anime gimmicks.

Some people like them. Some people don't.

Chrom = Headstrong lord who refuses to acknowledge that loss of his comrades is acceptable in battle... Honestly it's like Ike and Marth mixed together.

Frederick = Chromsessive Butler Knight

Liz/Lissa = Tomboyish (English-only) princess.

Olivia = HAZUKASHII DESU

Sumia = Tripping airhead

Tiamo/Cordelia = Fangirl

Lon'qu = Guy Cecil of FE

Nono/Nowi = loli

...actually for the girls, it's due to that Asian/Japanese ideal I keep repeating myself over and over with.

They don't like to stand out, AND being submissive and cute, but strong willed on the inside (not outgoing on freaking everything) is something they can't help but put into their character designs.

In all honestly, it's because I probably have different standards bombarded at me than the typical North American.

So actually, NONE stood out at me for the guys besides... Wood/Owain. But not in a good way. I had to learn to like him. He reminded me of the nerds that are too into their mecha anime.

Grego/Gregor was the LOVABLE old man in Japanese... but he didn't stand out. Like... at all that much.

[BlueFire]

I find Freddy to be the deepest and most complex Jagen yet.

I think that a lot of the comparable characters between the games lose to the Awakening ones in terms of deep/complex because there are so many supports in this game as well as several marriage options and sometimes a kid.

It's Gamefaqs.

[. . .]

I wonder how the other FE forums view Serenes.

[BrightBow]

The assumption that the quality of the characterization revolves along gender lines isn't something I can subscribe.

I mean, I was sure hoping that males would be more interesting when I choose a female Avatar. The males make up for being less fetishy by being more random. But that doesn't make them worse or even more repetitive.

"I'm tripping. I'm such a klutz, sorry." isn't much better then "No one can see me. I didn't mean to startle you.". and whatnot.

Edited July 30, 2013 by BrightBow

[Wizard]

There aren't that many 'normal' characters in Awakening...

They all have a quirk, like Kellam's lack of presence, Owain's 'sword hand', Cordelia's unrequited love...

Even characters like Panne, who has a fairly normal personality, has the quirk of being a BUNNY. (Oh my god, ish sho cute!)

Hmmm... Who hasn't got a quirk...

The Avatar.

[Revan97]

I'd say I found about half the male cast to be bland but that's standard for most fire emblem games. Stahl, Greogor, and Fredrick are all rather boring IMO but no more so than say Kent, Harken, or Moulder just to name some random forgettable character of which I could make a huge list. For me a fire emblem cast is always remembered for it's high point not the low as the low is always about the same.

Also there are plenty of gimmick or forgettable female characters. I think this could honestly be a case of gender bias making a character more interesting than it would be to the other gender. I know that when I was a teenage boy I found all the female character to be more interesting than they were.

Hmmm... Who hasn't got a quirk...
The Avatar.

I's say his quirk is being a 'tactical genius' that everyone praises every five seconds for doing things a child could think of. Also he has the ability to defy strategic logic and physics to make fire spread between a fleet of ships that were not chained (I hate that moment, battle of Red Cliffs that was not).

[Leinex]

In general, I find Awakening's cast okay, but my list of favorites is pretty small compared to the other FEs I've played. The ones I'm really fond of are Olivia, Stahl, and Ricken...and that's pretty much it.

I never thought about the personalities along gender lines, actually. There's tropes I dislike for both the girls and boys; I don't like how Vaike refers to himself in third person* sometimes, or how everyone fails to notice Kellam all the time, or Cordelia's one-sided crush for Chrom, or Tharja's creepy stalker thing.

*I know that's considered "cute" for moe girls or whatever, but I don't even like it then.

Chrom = Headstrong lord who refuses to acknowledge that loss of his comrades is acceptable in battle... Honestly it's like Ike and Marth mixed together.

In all honestly, it's because I probably have different standards bombarded at me than the typical North American.

At some points, I actually winced at Chrom's dialogue when I found it particularly reminiscent of Ike...

Anyone with immigrants for parents can likely say that.

[Thor Odinson]

I find the vast majority of FEA's cast to be inaptly written. This is not to say I hate all the characters-I take what I can get and work from there- but as it stands most of the supports are repetitive as fuck and relies on repeating the same gimmicks over and over again for cheap humor when there's so many support slots to explore other aspects and whatever depths. It's not the case for all characters or all supports, but it's a glaring problem nevertheless.

[Wizard]

All the characters are tropes! (I KNEW IT)

Olivia's quirk was a little weird. I mean, seriously: A dancer that hates when you look at her? I mean, part of her job is to make people want to look at her...

Nowi because loli.

Lucina is just... Lucina. She is THE female lord of Awakening, so she kind of has to be serious and driven.

[Elieson]

Pretty sure every character can be summed up in a 3-words-or-less description of blanditude.

Chrom-Serious Hero/Prince

Lissa-Tomboy princess

Fred-Super loyal butler

Avata-Tactical Genius

Virion- All-Talk Pretty boy

Sully- Tough Chick

Vaike- Strong Cocky Oaf

Miriel- Studious Scientist

Stahl- Average Hungry Joe

Kellam- Constantly Covert Astronaut

Sumia- Tryhard Romantic Airhead

Lon'qu- Serious badass heterophobe

Ricken- Little Kid

Maribelle- Snobby royalty

Donny- Hick Farmer

Panne- Demihuman racist

Gaius- Sugar loving thief

Anna- Greedy Family girl

Gregor- Lovable Foreigner

Nowi- Loli Dragon girl

Tharja- Creepy stalker witch

Libra- Mysterious religious trap

Cherche- Charming Wyvern lover

Cordelia- love-struck over achiever

Olivia- Shy Pole Dancer

Basilio- Buff Token Comedian

Flavia- Babysitting Battle Lord

Henry- Sadistic Homocidal Maniac

Tiki- Timeless Dragon Goddess

Say'ri- Samurai damsel

I mean it's so easy to classify each and every character, and I haven't even gotten to the kids/Spotpass chars which are equally as easy to classfify. Their supports are what help them branch off from their generic classifications but they only do so much.

Edited July 30, 2013 by Elieson

[Junkhead]

I find most characters in the gaem to be cute and interesting.

Frederick: why so srs, momma bear, caretaker buttler knight

Liz: Cute little princess that makes jokes. That's adorable.

Virion: Ladies man with a legendary ego, also elegant and refined

Vaike: Tough guy that wants to be the best at what he does, has an amazing sense of self. Really funny to have around.

Miriel: Really smart person, analytical cold and calculative person. This actually seems kind of rare. Can be fun when loosened up.

Sumia: Klutzy girl with incredibly low self-esteem that trips often. Now, this one might seem terrible, but the way it's executed really makes her cuter and adorable and x))))))

Lon'qu: Tough guy that's timid towards woman. That's a new one.

Maribelle: Elegant and refined noble lady. Can be a bit obnoxious, but like Sumia, she actually makes this look cute.

Panne: Strong srs face racist warrior woman. Kind of reminds me of Lethe.

Cordelia: Don't really know much about her, but I like how she reacts towards Chrom.

And I don't really feel like typing more.

the hell elieson

Edited July 30, 2013 by Enkidu

[Elieson]

imaninja

[shadowofchaos]

All the characters are tropes! (I KNEW IT)

Olivia's quirk was a little weird. I mean, seriously: A dancer that hates when you look at her? I mean, part of her job is to make people want to look at her...

Comedy from the contrast of her job and her personality.

I thought it was cute. OBVIOUSLY.

I'm one who dislikes the whole "I'm a dancer, I'm so kawaii! Look at me! LOVE ME!" *cough* Lalum *cough*

[Elieson]

Comedy from the contrast of her job and her personality.

I thought it was cute. OBVIOUSLY.

I'm one who dislikes the whole "I'm a dancer, I'm so kawaii! Look at me! LOVE ME!" *cough* Lalum *cough*

"I'm a television news reporter, but don't watch me on TV!"

"I'm a dancer, but don't look at me while I dance!"

"I'm a painter but if you look at my paintings I'll...I'll ask you to leave politely!"

[BrightBow]

Comedy from the contrast of her job and her personality.

I thought it was cute. OBVIOUSLY.

I'm one who dislikes the whole "I'm a dancer, I'm so kawaii! Look at me! LOVE ME!" *cough* Lalum *cough*

So what? Olivia is at least just as "Kawai". She is just the moe type.

Edit: Sorry, nevermind that is off-topic. Anyway, it's hardly comical. Just nonsensical.

Edited July 30, 2013 by BrightBow

[Wizard]

Comedy from the contrast of her job and her personality.I thought it was cute. OBVIOUSLY.I'm one who dislikes the whole "I'm a dancer, I'm so kawaii! Look at me! LOVE ME!" *cough* Lalum *cough*

The only character I've ever heard anyone say was kawaii was Keisuke from Devil Survivor, and that was because a she thought he looked 'cute' when he was angry. (SPOILERS: HE LOOKED TERRIFYING)

I don't think I've even recruited Lalum/DatBardTrap yet...

EDIT: Despite everything I have against her, Tharja's personality is more interesting than quite a few of the characters in Awakening...

Edited July 30, 2013 by TheWarpedWizard

[Leinex]

So what? Olivia is at least just as "Kawai". She is just the moe type.

Edit: Sorry, nevermind that is off-topic. Anyway, it's hardly comical. Just nonsensical.

I think Olivia gets into a certain mindset when she's performing, and then it shatters when her performance ends.

[FrostyFireMage]

I find the vast majority of FEA's cast to be inaptly written. This is not to say I hate all the characters-I take what I can get and work from there- but as it stands most of the supports are repetitive as fuck and relies on repeating the same gimmicks over and over again for cheap humor when there's so many support slots to explore other aspects and whatever depths. It's not the case for all characters or all supports, but it's a glaring problem nevertheless.

This. Sometimes I wonder if IS thinks all FE fans are introverted otakus who have never actually seen how a real person acts or behaves.

"I'm a television news reporter, but don't watch me on TV!"

"I'm a dancer, but don't look at me while I dance!"

"I'm a painter but if you look at my paintings I'll...I'll ask you to leave politely!"

You can have a passion for something and not want to show it off to everyone, you know. :>

[PiplupPeanut]

Regarding Olivia's quirk, it's actually not uncommon for someone who performs (be it acting, singing, or whatever) to be shy outside of their performances. I do musical theatre and while I find it very easy to be onstage I'm self-conscious as heck when I'm off of it (ESPECIALLY when I'm practicing alone - when I practice singing I hate it when people can hear me). Olivia is a lot like that.

I...also don't exactly get it when people say that Awakenong's cast is one-dimensional. On the battlefield, yes, they're human gimmicks, but in supports and in Scrambles they show a good amount of depth.