Can you really choose your side?

[Hoshidokoala]

I don't want this to seem like a rant or anything, and am still probably going to get both but...

I don't understand the whole "you choose your path" idea when you buy either edition first. Surely if you buy the Hoshido or the Nohr edition that kind of rules out the whole aspect of what if by the time you reach chapter 6.

I'm just a bit confused about how the mechanics will work because surely if you buy the Nohr version you would have to play as Nohr (and vice versa)?

[Ryo]

Basing on the 4gamer interview, the players are supposed to make the choice before starting the game (i.e which version to play), so it's not meant to be an in-game choice. If I interpret the information correctly, you can only actually "choose" if you play the digital version.

[Hoshidokoala]

Basing on the 4gamer interview, the players are supposed to make the choice before starting the game (i.e which version to play), so it's not meant to be an in-game choice. If I interpret the information correctly, you can only actually "choose" if you play the digital version.

Ah ok was just a bit confused about it

[ckc22]

You're right - you can't really choose. The entire premise is false.

[ShadowKnight394]

You're right - you can't really choose. The entire premise is false.

What premise? For one, don't assume it will be the same internationally. Fire Emblem is much more popular in Japan, and in Japan, split-games like this are more common and popular then elsewhere. Also, tell me one time when they said that you could choose IN game.

[Jagged Jagen]

I think more than anything, the choice is a marketing slant. The real purpose behind seems to be pandering to the broken base. Honestly, I couldn't be happier. It allows those who started with Awakening/Newcomers a familiar experience. It also works not to alienate the vets/fans of the older way. I genuinely love the story and characters of Awakening, but hate how much was taken away from Classic FE, and what was added in its place. If there could be a true marriage of the two, my favorite games bar is changing!

[VincentASM]

Eh, I wouldn't say the premise is false... just a bit different and extreme to what most people were expecting.

You can choose whether to side with Hoshido or Nohr the moment you're in a game store.

Of course, there's a fair chance the games will be handled differently in the occidental releases.

[nhaer042]

The premise goes beyond being able to make a choice. The idea is exploring the outcomes of being on a different side not JUST choosing a side.

[NekoKnight]

The premise is false because it's a consumer choice and not an in-game one. All the drama leading up to Kamui's choice is made irrelevant because the player was forced to pick a side before they even turned on the 3DS. The choice is supposed to be the biggest, most life altering choice Kamui will ever have to make, but to the player it's "yeah yeah, hurry up and betray your surrogate family/blood family already! I want to play chapter 7!"

[goodperson707]

^ yes but why do we want to play chapter 7? To see the fallout of your choice most likely, When you make the choice is largely irrelevant, plus we don't even have all the info for all we know japan and everywhere else might get a demo with the first 5 chapters to help you make your choice.

also if it was all on-disk we would have the paying for something that you already own stigma out in full force

Edited May 9, 2015 by goodperson707

[astrophys]

The premise goes beyond being able to make a choice. The idea is exploring the outcomes of being on a different side not JUST choosing a side.

This is a good point.

I understand people's disappointment that the timing of the choice has been relocated to the purchase in the store (except for the digital version), but focusing on just the choice itself is effectively a case of failing to see the forest for the trees, as the saying goes.

The game is built around the idea of "what if?". At least, that's what we're lead to believe.

So its not just the choice that matters, but everything that happens AFTER the choice that matters… indeed, you could argue that what happens after the choice is FAR more important than the nature of how the choice itself is made.

[Ayra]

I probably misunderstood things, but based on the last interview, doesn't it go like this? :

1) Play up to chapter 6 where the decision lies, identical for all versions.

2) When you get to the choice part, you get the option to pick your side no matter which version you have. If you pick a path you don't own (the other version or the third path), you get to the "purchase" screen to buy that DLC and to download it, and it then resumes from there.

So no matter what game version you have, you always get an ingame choice on that scenario (just that one of those choices comes with a pay screen..)

[Neoleo21]

Funnily the premise holds true if you buy digital or the special edition, but not the regular one. I'm planning on getting the whole thing at launch before I even start playing so I think this won't an issue to me. Just funny that you have to spend $15 more to bring the marketing tagline into effect, at least in Japan.

[VincentASM]

I probably misunderstood things, but based on the last interview, doesn't it go like this? :

1) Play up to chapter 6 where the decision lies, identical for all versions.

2) When you get to the choice part, you get the option to pick your side no matter which version you have. If you pick a path you don't own (the other version or the third path), you get to the "purchase" screen to buy that DLC and to download it, and it then resumes from there.

So no matter what game version you have, you always get an ingame choice on that scenario (just that one of those choices comes with a pay screen..)

That's just for the digital version or if you have both campaigns available before the "choice" is made.

If you buy the packaged Nohr version, for example, you can only continue with the Nohr campaign.

In any case, I think that's a really good point about the outcome of the choice being more important than the choice itself. After all, 5/6ths of the game is living with the outcome, while the choice itself is just a single (albeit very important) moment of one chapter.

EDIT

Funnily the premise holds true if you buy digital or the special edition, but not the regular one. I'm planning on getting the whole thing at launch before I even start playing so I think this won't an issue to me. Just funny that you have to spend $15 more to bring the marketing tagline into effect, at least in Japan.

I'm not really sure if that's fair.

The marketing tagline was never that you could pick both options. In fact, the second trailer emphasises you can only choose one path, which is made true by having two separate versions of the game.

If you buy both versions (which is totally OK; I'm doing it too and I assume most hardcore fans will), you're effectively undermining that, as well as the severity of your choice.

Edited May 9, 2015 by VincentASM

[arvilino]

The marketing tagline was never that you could pick both options. In fact, the second trailer emphasises you can only choose one path, which is made true by having two separate versions of the game.

Yeah, it isn't "you can only choose both paths". I think the separate versions play very well in the game's premise. They're mutually exclusive which means when the player makes the purchase it puts permanence into the decision. A permament decision that couldn't be attained in any other way than the Digital Download method where the you can download one path.

If both campaigns were in the base game you could just save in two files before chapter 5 and then make both choices on in each save file to allow you to pick both. It'd allow you to be wishy washy and pick both paths at once.

Edited May 9, 2015 by arvilino

[NekoKnight]

The marketing tagline was never that you could pick both options. In fact, the second trailer emphasises you can only choose one path, which is made true by having two separate versions of the game.

If you buy both versions (which is totally OK; I'm doing it too and I assume most hardcore fans will), you're effectively undermining that, as well as the severity of your choice.

Game devs don't make multiple routes with the expectation or desire that you only play one of them. "You can only choose one path" can't be the real intention of the developers because they offer the other routes as heavily discounted DLC. Are the people who bought the special edition not getting the "true FE14 experience" because they get all options from the get-go? The premise of the game apparently changes depending on how much money you paid for it.

[Thor Odinson]

On the other hand, from what the devs implied through Q&A, that the difference between Nohr and Hoshido is so drastic that they're practically two entirely separate games. Is it really fair to the devs to have to sell pretty much 2 games for the price of 1? Separating is there as an option for people who don't want to shell out the bucks for both, and we also don't know what is going to happen with the NA/EU version, either. Only the Japanese direct got the two versions trailer, whereas we didn't. It's too hasty to jump to conclusions of how the NA version will be packaged like.

[NekoKnight]

On the other hand, from what the devs implied through Q&A, that the difference between Nohr and Hoshido is so drastic that they're practically two entirely separate games. Is it really fair to the devs to have to sell pretty much 2 games for the price of 1? Separating is there as an option for people who don't want to shell out the bucks for both, and we also don't know what is going to happen with the NA/EU version, either. Only the Japanese direct got the two versions trailer, whereas we didn't. It's too hasty to jump to conclusions of how the NA version will be packaged like.

They also said that each game would have as much content as Awakening but later revealed that the shared 5 chapters is the first 1/5 of the game so:

Nohr/Hoshido = 30ish chapters

Awakening = 50 chapters

The unique portion of the game is actually half as much as content as Awakening had in total.

[goodperson707]

^ yeah cause they totally counted possible gadien chapters we might get in their counts, gaidens are optional extra content so i don't see the problem here.

Edited May 10, 2015 by goodperson707

[NekoKnight]

^ yeah cause they totally counted possible gadien chapters we might get in their counts, gaidens are optional extra content so i don't see the problem here.

Hm? Gaidens don't count as part of the game's content? That's like half of Awakening, man.

[goodperson707]

Hm? Gaidens don't count as part of the game's content? That's like half of Awakening, man.

well yeah it counts but it is optional content, my thought is if they do end up going with the blazing sword type Gaidens in Nohr they would want to cover their buts on their counts, as the content is more easily missable than in awakening. Edited May 10, 2015 by goodperson707

[RandomSwordmaster]

^ well yeah it counts but it is optional content, but my thought is if they do end up going with the blazing sword type Gaidens they would want to cover their buts on their counts, as the content is more easily missable than in awakening.

They'll probably make the requirements obvious, like: "Save all allied(green) units to unlock gaiden(or whatever it's called here) chapter" at the start.

[Ryo]

We don't know if they counted Gaidens or not, they just said that 5/6 of the games follow a different story. Gaidens are not part of the story, so it's still vague.

導入部こそ共通していますが，それ以外のほとんどの部分，つまり全体の5/6位はまったく異なる物語です。

[Thor Odinson]

It's entirely possible that they did not count optional objectives.

It is also entirely possible that both routes will have their own optional objectives that the devs also did not include in considering the length.

ngl I don't even play most of Awakening's gaidens on any given run because pairing everyone takes forever and is out of the way.

Edited May 10, 2015 by Thor Odinson

[falcoknights]

is.. everyone forgetting this quote?:

the "greater than ever" in there isn't likely to be in there just for show.

i mean, the hoshido/nohr thing is likely the biggest choice ever in the game, but there's going to be things in-game that do shape the story in some way- access to gaiden chapters, items (valkyrie or goddess staff thing maybe), units, conversations maybe, idk (i'm clearly just listing random possibilities off the top of my head, lmao).

but the hoshido/nohr split probably won't be the only thing that alters the game's playthrough in an at least slightly significant way, IMO.

Edited May 10, 2015 by falcoknights