One thing that I don't understand about choosing sides...

[Kamui-of-Nohr]

Is how quick and willing they are to strike you down the moment you've made you decision. Of course, I understand the anger and hurt but I don't think the people who love you would be so quick to kill you if you betrayed them. And this is judging from Ryouma, Marx and the Archer's reactions to your betrayal so maybe not everyone is going to try to kill you instantly.

Through it seems like from various analysis, you would be forced to kill the other family should you choose the opposing side.

Edited April 25, 2015 by Kamui-of-Nohr

[Thane]

Keep in mind that we only ever saw Ryouma attacking Kamui immediately, while Marx just called him a traitor.

Granted, it's safe to assume that we will fight whatever faction we didn't side with on that map, but in the first trailer we see Blarth on the bridge, not Marx. This is of course just an observation of what we know so far and nothing more; we may fight Marx on that stage as well, which would be logical considering you do that with his Hoshido counterpart.

[Sunwoo]

I think there's a screenshot from that earlier bridge scene that shows Blarth in plain view, the troubadour sister when she's not covered up by Hinoka's portrait, and what looks like Marx and Ryouma fighting at the very top of the screen, partially cut off.

EDIT: Either way, I agree that Ryouma is quick to attack you after you pick Nohr. But maybe the others only attack you as you progress further into the story (or something)?

Edited April 25, 2015 by Sunwoo

[blah the Prussian]

Well, to be fair, you didn't grow up with the Hoshidans. It honestly makes sense Ryouma is quick to attack, as to him you are just another enemy soldier. I would be inclined to agree if Marx did the same, but he doesn't; these reactions make sense to me, in all honesty.

[Thane]

I think there's a screenshot from that earlier bridge scene that shows Blarth in plain view, the troubadour sister when she's not covered up by Hinoka's portrait, and what looks like Marx and Ryouma fighting at the very top of the screen, partially cut off.

EDIT: Either way, I agree that Ryouma is quick to attack you after you pick Nohr. But maybe the others only attack you as you progress further into the story (or something)?

I had completely missed that, thank you for telling me!

The question now is whether or not Ryouma attacks you immediately, or if he just tells you to come at him after you reach him on the stage later. It would be cool if he attacked at once if you picked Nohr, and that you would have to reach Marx yourself if you chose Hoshido.

[Sunwoo]

I don't know how to link screenshots on main site directly with the newer SF website format, so I'll just link the page where I found the screenshots.

http://serenesforest.net/fire-emblem-if/pre-release-media/

If you go down to the January trailer screenshots, the picture that shows the status screen for Hinoka and a generic cavalier has Ryouma and Marx (I assume) at the very top, cut off but enough to see that it's a paladin and swordmaster. The troubadour sister is covered up by Hinoka's portrait, she was there in another screenshot.

Edited April 25, 2015 by Sunwoo

[Asoleos]

Well we know that Hoshido is the smaller nation and Nohr the invading nation, from Ryouma's perspective he's got his family and close allies on the field facing off against a larger army. Its a do or die situation for him so he has to make a decision, show mercy on his long lost brother or take no chances and put the survival of his nation and family above all else.

Marx is in a better situation realistically speaking, so perhaps he's confidant enough to speak as to how he is betrayed by his foster brother.

[Kamui-of-Nohr]

Keep in mind that we only ever saw Ryouma attacking Kamui immediately, while Marx just called him a traitor.

Granted, it's safe to assume that we will fight whatever faction we didn't side with on that map, but in the first trailer we see Blarth on the bridge, not Marx. This is of course just an observation of what we know so far and nothing more; we may fight Marx on that stage as well, which would be logical considering you do that with his Hoshido counterpart.

We did see Marx attacking Kamui at the end of the trailer through.

[Wayward Alchemist]

Both Ryouma (we gotta find a way to shorten his name) and Marx, and AB, for that matter, seem really patriotic and "muh country is always furst"-ish, kinda like Marth's "I am a prince before I am a son or brother". I do also agree with Asoleos, it's a do-or-die situation for Ryouma and Marx, considering that a battle will insue as soon as Kamui picks a side, putting both their families in danger, and also Kamui would certainly need to be dispatched, as having a badass sword wielding dragonboy/girl as your enemy would put your side at a pretty big disadvantage.

[Vineron]

Well in Ryouma's case, he hasn't seen you since you were taken away and while he is likely ecstatic at finding you as you are his family, this view would obviously change if you side with Nohr.

For all he knows you've been (culturally) brainwashed by Nohr and by declaring allegiances with Nohr you're basically saying you're willing to invade his home and fight his family. If you're threatening his family that he's grown up, he'll clearly value them more than someone who has his blood, but holds ill-intent towards those he loves.

After all, while you're family, he doesn't know what type of person you are.

[B.Leu]

Oh yeeees, I want some Imouto's blood on my hands...

It make sense to me. From their crappy POV, Kamui betray them for 'strangers'.

Though Ryouma seems much more nicer about it. He's all m'okay, come at me bro, showmeyourdetermination, while Marx is all 'Justice ? Lol, I'll give it you'.

It's the other Hoshido I'm worried about, like blond-archer-guy.

He was saying 'YOU TRAITOR' in the trailer, Kamui was RAISED in Nohr. No reason to give a damn about Hoshido. To me, it's a nice piece of troll logic. Maybe he is supposed to be a 'generic' loyal solder ? Like, with the personality of it ?

Edited April 26, 2015 by B.Leu

[Crysta]

He was saying 'YOU TRAITOR' in the trailer, Kamui was RAISED in Nohr. No reason to give a damn about Hoshido. To me, it's a nice piece of troll logic. Maybe he is supposed to be a 'generic' loyal solder ? Like, with the personality of it ?

Yeah I found this kind of ironic. I imagine my own retort going like this:

"YOU BETRAYED HOSHIDO."

"BITCH I DON'T EVEN KNOW YOU."

It's not like you swore an oath or anything. These guys just show up and expect you to fight to the death with them and you haven't even had lunch with them yet.

[HeartTranquil]

I feel like Lobster just said come at me bro, he may just want to test your skills and even if he did strike you down he will not actually deal the finishing blow.

You've gotta be kidding me if you think that "duel" with the Blonde and Lobster will be anything but decisive. If you win the fight, does this mean the Blonde/Lobster is dead? Of course not! They will retreat/fall back and say something like: "another day".

They are acknowledging that YOU are a really cool & powerful individual… you can be a big ally or a big threat. Everyone wants YOU in FE IF.

You are the centre of attention. Everyone wants a piece of that avatar.

[B.Leu]

You ARE a dragon. Or a prostitute. I'm not exactly sure about that one to be honest. Midnight Sun reference here.

Kind of stupid to pick a fight against a dragon.

By the way, why does everybody call him Lobster ? He doesn't look like a Lobster to me.

[Meltlilith]

Hoshido's reasons for attacking Kamui have been pretty extensively discussed so I'll focus on Nohr

I think it comes down to feeling vs logic from the commanders (in this case, Marx and Ryouma) as they're meant to foil each other

Ryouma is more chill, yeah, boiling down to "Come at me bruh" but logically needs to fight back since Nohr has the larger army (normally, you would want to retreat, but it seems like Nohr specializes in a cavalry/mounted units and Hoshido.... doesn't outside of a few Pegasus knights, meaning they'd easily be run down)

Marx has less incentive to fight, having more resources and a presumably better army (meaning that Hoshido can be crushed at leisure instead of this being a decisive battle), so the only way it makes sense to pick a fight is because he's really fucking livid. The stronger his attachment to Kamui, contrary to popular belief, the more he'd want to fight him, I think. Nohr definitely has a Greek/Roman aesthetic (more Roman than Greek, but I'm referencing Greece because I'm more familiar with their ideals) and betrayal - especially to your family was one of the absolute worst things you could do. Not only that, but tying it to the Roman idea of gloria (not exactly glory - more your reputation), it would be shameful if he simply let Kamui go with no fight at all, especially since the betrayal is such a slap in the face (as well as salt rubbed in a wound, spitting, a big ol' middle finger, etc.)

Besides that, Marx does have the superior force. He might intend to crush the entirety of Hoshido's forces right then and there, just to spite Kamui like a kind of "told you so, now don't be stupid. Come home already."

Edited April 26, 2015 by Meltlilith

[Florete]

I know people want to analyze every pixel, but...we don't have the game yet. There could (and likely will) be a lot more context to this decision and the other character's reactions than what we've seen. This just really reeks of jumping to conclusions.

[NekoKnight]

It's not like Marx or Ryoma has a real choice. The armies are assembled and the battle is set to happen no matter who Kamui sides with. It's not like Marx or Ryoma can say "Well, this has been a very emotionally draining encounter. Everyone go home! The invasion starts tomorrow!"

I expect that defeating anyone of the family you don't choose will just cause them to retreat.

[Thane]

I know people want to analyze every pixel, but...we don't have the game yet. There could (and likely will) be a lot more context to this decision and the other character's reactions than what we've seen. This just really reeks of jumping to conclusions.

Of course, and we're all aware of that. However, since this is a forum for an upcoming game which we're looking forward to, we share our thoughts on the matter. It's a very natural thing to do

Edited April 26, 2015 by Thane

[Book Bro]

He was saying 'YOU TRAITOR' in the trailer, Kamui was RAISED in Nohr. No reason to give a damn about Hoshido. To me, it's a nice piece of troll logic. Maybe he is supposed to be a 'generic' loyal solder ? Like, with the personality of it ?

Yeah I found this kind of ironic. I imagine my own retort going like this:

"YOU BETRAYED HOSHIDO."

"BITCH I DON'T EVEN KNOW YOU."

It's not like you swore an oath or anything. These guys just show up and expect you to fight to the death with them and you haven't even had lunch with them yet.

I think, and hope, it will be a little more complicated than that. If Kamui has vague memories of his/her childhood in Hoshido and/or spends time with them before the decision is made, it's realistic there would be a sense of attachment to both sides.

[Kamui-of-Nohr]

I know people want to analyze every pixel, but...we don't have the game yet. There could (and likely will) be a lot more context to this decision and the other character's reactions than what we've seen. This just really reeks of jumping to conclusions.

Yeah, it's called speculation. There's nothing with speculating. It keeps the hype going.

Edited April 26, 2015 by Kamui-of-Nohr

[goodperson707]

Yeah, it's called speculation. There's nothing with speculating. It keeps the hype going.

I for one get that but then it is always possible to have too much of a good thing, especially with speculation as the game in all likelihood wont match your vision of the game perfectly, and too much hype can cause a backlash when the game comes out. Though this thread doesn't seem to have too much rampant unfounded speculation, most of it is based on the personality and emotions of characters when we have only tiny snippets of info to go on.

Edited April 26, 2015 by goodperson707

[Florete]

Of course, and we're all aware of that. However, since this is a forum for an upcoming game which we're looking forward to, we share our thoughts on the matter. It's a very natural thing to do

Yeah, it's called speculation. There's nothing with speculating. It keeps the hype going.

Yeah, neither of you are getting what I mean.

As I said, the OP doesn't sound like speculation so much as jumping to conclusions. It sounds like a complaint that would come from someone who has already played the game. How do you know "how quick and willing they are to strike you down" the opposite side actually is? We don't know the characters, the stakes, or what happens in between the choice and the grudge match in question. If you say you don't understand this part of the choice, I would say you're not supposed to yet.

I never said there was anything wrong with speculation or this topic, but maybe people do need to calm down a bit...

[Thane]

Yeah, neither of you are getting what I mean.

As I said, the OP doesn't sound like speculation so much as jumping to conclusions. It sounds like a complaint that would come from someone who has already played the game. How do you know "how quick and willing they are to strike you down" the opposite side actually is? We don't know the characters, the stakes, or what happens in between the choice and the grudge match in question. If you say you don't understand this part of the choice, I would say you're not supposed to yet.

I never said there was anything wrong with speculation or this topic, but maybe people do need to calm down a bit...

I understand you perfectly.

However, merely being silent won't sate my curiosity, and by talking to people I might pick up on something I had missed, which indeed happened earlier in the thread. No one here believes our speculations are more than guesses based on what we have been shown, but it's always fun to compare how everyone has interpreted things and to hear what they believe will happen.

Someone could make a thread explaining why they believe Dancina is the main villain; we'd obviously know there's not information to go on to confirm such a thing, but it could still make for an entertaining discussion while we wait for the game. Not knowing and waiting together is part of being in a community.

[BlueLore]

We did see Marx attacking Kamui at the end of the trailer through.

However that was at a completely different location.

Ryouma seems to attack you on the spot the moment you choose the Nohr(which makes sense considering you are pretty much a stranger for him at this point),but we never see marx attacking in this situation.

The scene you mention where Marx attacks Kamui plays in a castle,so it most likely plays some time after you betrayed the Nohr,so Marx had quite some time to prepare mentally for this battle.

[jessehyuga]

I know people want to analyze every pixel, but...we don't have the game yet. There could (and likely will) be a lot more context to this decision and the other character's reactions than what we've seen. This just really reeks of jumping to conclusions.

for the most part I agree with her point. for all we know you may actually fight both depending on which you choose, they just showed you one fight for simplicity sake. but if Ryo (Ryoma) IS the only one to attack I think it actually makes some sense, besides attacking just because its the logical move. now I know barley anything about Japanese culture, so please correct me if I'm wrong, but perhaps Ryo is engaging Kamui in a fight for his honor. this would go along with the fact that, at least to me, Ryo is based off a samurai.