Speculation Hopes for FE 15

[Ledges]

Considering the direction the Fire Emblem series has taken, I've all but given up on no my unit, no immediate marriage mechanics, and no children...so, I am hoping for:

-Subtle fan-service

-Better implementation of children (Say goodbye to your 1st generation characters; we're having a bonfire and they are the fuel!)

-Ditch Emblem amie for a better mechanic that helps players get to know the army and kingdoms

-Varied map objectives and clever map design, ones in which there are several possible methods of attack to work with other than 'brute force'

-Extensive world building through cutscenes, dialogue, and gameplay (Cyas from FE5 and the Black Knight from Radiant Dawn are good examples of this)

-More focus on the issues at hand and on other characters in addition to the protagonist

-DLC expansion maps that tell more about the world along with hints at lore

-Unique models and portraits for DLC characters

-Ledges on the map as Radiant Dawn had where you can snipe at enemy units from above

-Turrets that allow bow units to snipe at multiple enemies

-Anna

-And for the avatar, possibly an option for several types of personalities and endings depending on who they supported with to an S or A+ rank

[Jagged Jagen]

- Reinstate Weapon Durability

- Put the marketing focus on the Core game first, and the options second.

- Make the story focus on the Lord, and make the Lord separate from the MU.

- Take a breather. IS wants to go bigger and better, they want 3 games, and My Castle, but a campaign bigger than Awakening, and they want to make it and they want a story with multiple endings and... I feel they're getting a tad too ambitious. Fates could be great, or could suck, or could be terrible on Hoshido, Ok on 3rd, and great on Nohr or vice versa and it seems that they're going a bit too big. Scale it down a tad, and don't bite off more than you can chew.

- Don't be afraid to listen to your fans. As the director of Xenoblade Chronicles X put it, he's always taking into account fan criticism and striving to make a game enjoyed by many while most JRPG devs simply do whatever. I'm not saying that IS isn't listening (The rebalancing of Pair-Up says otherwise) but initial fan reviews seem a tad more mixed than Awakening (6/10 for Conquest, 7/10 for Birthright in comparison to 8/10 for Awakening on Amazon Japan reviews). Some of the complaints can be ignored, but others span 2 games and should be listened to (From what my translator could make out, some Japanese fans were also calling for the removal of the marriage/children, though it may be mistranslated)

- Make a good game. At the end of the day, I think this is all what we hope FE15 will be. Good is subjective, but in akk our ways, this is what it comes down to.

[georgetruman]

I saw a few people say that they want the first generation to die if there is a second generation. I would much rather have one small generation, then have a timeskip and bring those characters back as older bad-asses.

I obviously haven't been able to see how the gameplay changes really play out, but I actually like that they nerfed hand axes and javelins. I don't feel like going to the shop and spending all my money on 1-2 weapons is a particularly interesting strategy, so I hope they keep that.

I also really like the change to weapon uses. I much prefer having combat-relative upsides and downsides to using particular weapons over the financial planning of weapon uses. Especially on a first play through, where I almost inevitably save my treasure chest weapons until far too late in the game. I'd actually like to see them find a way to balance staffs to have infinite uses. I think a pure utility/debuff class would be really cool.

I don't like "zany" and unrealistic character designs and I hope that the next game has more characters like Benoit and Effie (Or any of the designs from GBA).

I really like the new re-classing system and I hope they keep it (at least don't reintroduce grinding)

I'd really like a fixed growth option so I can't exploit the rng.

I really don't like the overland map or infinite grinding, so I hope that if they do decide to bring that back, they create another "more difficult" version like they did for Fates.

Apparently Lunatic starts off pretty easy then gets a lot harder. I like that difficulty curve (as opposed to most of the other games that get considerably easier after the first few levels).

I'd love to see them bring back ranked runs. Being forced to use almost every unit and play very efficiently made replaying FE7 much more enjoyable for me.

I'd also really like to see more beach photos and face rubbing.

[Anacybele]

Well of course Japanese fans would rate Birthright higher than Conquest, it IS the Japan-influenced version. xP

[georgetruman]

It also might be relevant that Conquest is the version that is a bit more different than Awakening. If a player has only ever played Awakening and thinks that's what they're getting with Conquest, and then gets more difficult objectives with no ways of grinding up their characters stats, they may feel a bit bamboozled.

[Sylphid]

- varied map objectives, well-designed maps, etc. Basically the standard "please make a strategy game that's about strategy". Stuff like ledges from RD, gba style ballistas, weather effects and fog of war would be nice map elements. Fog of war only if it applies to enemies too though.

- fun, well-written characters and support conversations. I like humor so they don't all have to be dead serious, but please, no marriage because pies, playing house or "oh Chrom-sama, my boobs are so small". I would also like to see support conversation either adapt to your gameplay choices or be written in a way that doesn't make that seem necessary. I didn't mind "oh Chrom-sama" part before it happened after marriage to someone else.

- I don't hate the marriage system, but please, give me more non-romantic supports and paired endings. Both for pairs of same and different gender characters. Also if same-gender supports remain, don't make them as stupidly limited as in Fates.

- If there are children, please no time-travel, world-hopping or anything else stupid like that. Time-skip should make at least some sense story-wise and if that means you have to support fast or you miss children, fine. Children also shouldn't be a complete replacement for late-game recruitables (I'm okay with outrealms if they're DLC-only). In case of parent-child or gen 2 sibling supports, I feel they shouldn't be generic the way they were in Awakening. Or better disguised generic ones at least.

- Iess fanservice. I don't mind it in some amount, but Fates seems to be going way too far with it. I feel like IS badly misunderstood the reasons Awakening was popular.

[Celice]

To not look like ass. Awakening had some low frames in some areas and generally blurry textures, but FEif is nothing BUT blurry textures in battles and on models, with tons of aliasing.

[Jotari]

As stated by someone else, I would also like to see a game where we have an unequivocal female lead. An avatar is fine, can exist as long as they're of minor importance. I'm not one of those feminist types who thinks all protagonists should be women, but it does irk me that we've had four great female Lords in the series so far and every time without fail they've had to share the spot light. I just want to see it done once, just once so that I know it can be done and I can look back on it. Then they can give us a hundred games with a male protagonist or a gender deciding avatar and I won't care. Just give it to me once and I'll be happy. Other than that, the gameplay things. Bring back like every feature, except some of the ones in Gaiden. This is a strategy series, every small touch they add gives another layer of depth to the gameplay. Give us the biorhythm, ledges, height bonuses, leadership stars, capturing, stamina, durability, con, fog of war, status staves, ballisticians, branching promotions and a three tier system (seriously think there's a lot of potential for class diversity there. If I haven't pushed it in your face before then check out my hypothetical class tree). I want it all.

Edited June 28, 2015 by Jotari

[Anacybele]

Oh yeah, I really want third tier classes back too! That was one of my favorite things about RD.

[Carter]

- Ranged weapons being able to double attack.

- Grinding for skills and the return of Second Seals.

- Growths similar to Awakenings.

- None of this "Weapons give you stat penalties" crap.

This, pretty much. I have no other personal hopes for FE15, other than that I hope I like it (which will probably be the case. I love a lot of games!).

[Flamy]

Oh yeah, I really want third tier classes back too! That was one of my favorite things about RD.

But wouldn't that mean that EXP distribution gets thinner?

Consider this for a moment, unless you already have an answer for this: The ideal of getting the maximum stats for any unit is to have them at 20/20, or promoted at max level, and at max level. Should one slap on yet another twenty levels for them to progress on into, the game either needs to provide a means of doling out additional EXP, whether it be by having an EXP formula that outputs a greater amount or Bonus EXP, and/or having more chapters wherein enemies can be fought.

Or, y'know, Arenas.

[BrightBow]

It would most certainly be easier to give an extensive answer to this if I had the opportunity to play the game. In terms of mechanics, the game definitely looks promising. But I guess I can at least say that I wish the game's design will be smarter in how it makes everything work together then the latest one. I mean, I think it's rare that you just can't have your cake and eat it too, as long as you are willing to put some thought into it.

To give ea few thoughts, skimpy outfits could be given to characters for whom it makes sense. Dancers are probably the most obvious example. There is no reason that the mechanical purpose of Dancers has to be performed by dancers but using them provides this kind of opportunity.

Also, now we have My Castle, which is apparently extensive enough to be it's own game. So instead of boob plates and that kind of stuff, we could get additional portraits of the characters wearing more casual and consequently more revealing clothing. It would also provide a nice contrast between the seriousness of battle and the temporary respite of the castle.

Besides, we can literally strip characters anyway, so there is no reason to make the class designs themselves look like such a mess.

As for the children, if IS doesn't care about anything in the period between their conception and when they are old enough to start killing people, they should just stick to adoption. It requires no stupid handwave, allows more freedom in giving the kids a character and history, and it actually gives the opportunity of actually showing the relationship between the kid and it's parents developing.

Don't know what to come up with in regards to the groping, though. I guess one could limit it to prostitutes, certain individuals and spouses but I find it too freaking weird to imagine it in any context. So I guess I would just like to see that simply gone.

Edit:

I would also like DLCs to be actual campaigns instead of individual maps. With the ability to have shorter campaigns like that, you could have all kinds of stories and scenarios that you normally couldn't do due to the necessity of having 20+ chapters. Something like RD: Part 2 for example.

Also, Tellius/Jugdral class designs as DLC.

Edited June 29, 2015 by BrightBow

[Anacybele]

But wouldn't that mean that EXP distribution gets thinner?

Consider this for a moment, unless you already have an answer for this: The ideal of getting the maximum stats for any unit is to have them at 20/20, or promoted at max level, and at max level. Should one slap on yet another twenty levels for them to progress on into, the game either needs to provide a means of doling out additional EXP, whether it be by having an EXP formula that outputs a greater amount or Bonus EXP, and/or having more chapters wherein enemies can be fought.

Or, y'know, Arenas.

Oh, of course I would have answers for that. 1. A longer game so there are more battles. 2. Grinding, though I would use a different system than Awakening's so the game can't get super easy just by doing a ton of grinding. The feature I've come up with is sparring. Yeah, sparring. Actual sparring between your units so they help each other get stronger! I mean, characters talk about sparring in FE games all the time, so why aren't we actually able to make that happen yet? The closest thing so far is PoR's prologue, I'd say.

How this feature would work: As soon as a character reaches a C support with someone, they may spar with them a few times after every battle. Both characters gain more exp. When they reach a higher support level, they can spar even more. Characters can only spar with those they can support with.

This would also encourage people to get lots of support conversations. ^^

Edited June 29, 2015 by Anacybele

[Soapbar]

Isn't this a bit soon..?

Game just released In Japan, I'm pretty sure the Smash community started speculating and making hopes about Smash 5 before Smash 4 was even released in Japan.

This is pretty common within most fanbases.

Edited June 29, 2015 by Soapbar

[Flamy]

This would also encourage people to get lots of support conversations. ^^

No, it just encourages a different kind of grinding: support grinding.

Though your suggestion is a valid one. It does require some refining, however.

[Jotari]

Oh, of course I would have answers for that. 1. A longer game so there are more battles. 2. Grinding, though I would use a different system than Awakening's so the game can't get super easy just by doing a ton of grinding. The feature I've come up with is sparring. Yeah, sparring. Actual sparring between your units so they help each other get stronger! I mean, characters talk about sparring in FE games all the time, so why aren't we actually able to make that happen yet? The closest thing so far is PoR's prologue, I'd say.

How this feature would work: As soon as a character reaches a C support with someone, they may spar with them a few times after every battle. Both characters gain more exp. When they reach a higher support level, they can spar even more. Characters can only spar with those they can support with.

This would also encourage people to get lots of support conversations. ^^

How would the sparring actually work? Would it be just instant exp because the characters sparred? Or would it be like the arena where the two characters face of, the longer they fight the more exp they gain but at the risk of killing/injuring each other if you don't quit the match in time? Or maybe even a mini game unlike the standard gameplay?

[Anacybele]

How would the sparring actually work? Would it be just instant exp because the characters sparred? Or would it be like the arena where the two characters face of, the longer they fight the more exp they gain but at the risk of killing/injuring each other if you don't quit the match in time? Or maybe even a mini game unlike the standard gameplay?

Why would they kill each other? That's stupid, these are allied characters. It would basically work like Ike vs Boyd/Ike vs Greil in the PoR prologue, except both sides gain exp, even the loser. However, the loser gets a little less. The idea of gaining more exp the longer they fight also sounds good.

A mini-game is one way you could describe it.

Edited June 29, 2015 by Anacybele

[Jotari]

Why would they kill each other? That's stupid, these are allied characters. It would basically work like Ike vs Boyd/Ike vs Greil in the PoR prologue, except both sides gain exp, even the loser. However, the loser gets a little less. The idea of gaining more exp the longer they fight also sounds good.

A mini-game is one way you could describe it.

Of course they wouldn't intentionally hurt each other. But accents do happen when sparring, especially when throwing fire balls. If its like the beginning of POR though then it'd basically be like watching a battle animation to get exp. I'd like it if there was some more player agency involved. If you have them fight like in the arena then you could make it so the KO'd character is unable to battle next chapter or starts the chapter with reduced health. Stopping before its finished then might not give as much exp but might have you better suited for the next real fight. trade offs and what not.

[Anacybele]

Why would a character have to start with reduced health when there are healers around though? That gives me an idea though. Healers can gain exp between battles this way too, btw. Heal the characters that just sparred. No support required for this. However, they still gain minimal exp just like in an actual battle.

[Sentacotus]

How about this for children. Why not have a legitamate time skip in between story arcs and have lets a main character who is in their 20's have a kid skip 15-20 years making the main character around 35-40 with their kid and have them as playable units. Think about it while Ike was of fighting age in PoR around 17-18 or so and Greil was in his 40s he was still a beast despite not being able to use swords. I could see like a father unit main character fighting with their kid on the battlefield and have the potential to have more development. Hell you could even make both of them main characters so if the kid dies its game over so that the parent doesn't overshadow the kid.

Edited June 29, 2015 by LordTaco42

[Jotari]

Why would a character have to start with reduced health when there are healers around though?

The budget. Healing aint free.

[Awakener_]

- Ranged weapons being able to double attack.

- No waifus/husbandos unless I can marry Vika.

- Grinding for skills and the return of Second Seals.

- Growths similar to Awakenings.

- The game to be on a console, not a handheld.

- None of this "Weapons give you stat penalties" crap.

This except for the no waifus part and don't cared that much whether it will be on handheld or console.

[Tsunami922]

I want more same sex supports. Females should have more female options, and males should have more male options, instead of mostly consisting of the opposite gender.

[Sentacotus]

I want more same sex supports. Females should have more female options, and males should have more male options, instead of mostly consisting of the opposite gender.

FKamui x Camilla. Yeah I said it.

[Tsunami922]

FKamui x Camilla. Yeah I said it.

No lie, best pairing. 12/10.